


Sky Pirates

by NEIWIS



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canon Divergence - The Blood of Olympus (Heroes of Olympus), Pirates, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:35:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 33,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24142198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NEIWIS/pseuds/NEIWIS
Summary: In a world where Hylla and Reyna never escaped from the clutches of Blackbeard, the two sisters rule the seas but are isolated from the civil war brewing between the Greek and Roman demigods. During a supply run, Reyna finds a flying ship that she wants as her own. The resulting events thrusts Reyna directly into the middle of the prophecy of seven, where she must help the praetor of Camp Jupiter deliver a statue to Camp Half-Blood to make peace. With threats from rival pirate crews and the giant Orion, Reyna's newfound companions must learn to trust her to be able to survive the strangest cross country trip ever.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 17





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is an AU set during the Blood of Olympus. It will follow the perspective of a few different characters but mostly focus on the quest to deliver the Athena Parthenos. I hope everyone enjoys.

Annabeth woke with a beating heart and a bad feeling in her gut. She took a deep breath and looked around her cabin on the Argo II. Memories of Tartarus threatened to come crashing back to her, but she stood and started to pace. All she needed to do was distract her mind and stay focused.

They were going to be on the way to Ithaca soon, but they had all stopped for a victory dinner of no one dying in Tartarus. The others were getting some supplies and enjoying the time off of the ship, while Leo did maintenance. Annabeth stayed behind to help him and keep her mind from going back to that place.

It had only been forty three minutes, not that she was counting or anything, and the others were not back yet. Percy was not back yet. He promised that he would be back in less than a hour, long enough for him to visit the sea. Annabeth took a shaky breath and shook her head. She needed to distract herself. Time to find Leo.

As Annabeth walked, she thought of the two demigods and one Satyr that had gone on the journey to deliver the Athenos Parthenos to Camp Half-Blood. Annabeth still didn't know how she managed to convince Gwen to leave Camp Jupiter behind and travel all the way to their ship. She also didn't know how the three were going to deliver the statue before the deadline. She just needed to have faith. If anyone could it, those three could.

Annabeth walked towards Leo's little hiding hole. She didn't see his legs sticking out, and after crouching down to confirm that he wasn't there, a frown came to her face. Where was Leo? Annabeth walked towards Leos' cabin and knocked on the door. When no response was given, she gently pushed open the door.

Unless Leo was laying underneath a small mound of wires and metal pieces, he wasn't there. Annabeth frowned and left the room. She looked throughout the rest of deck but couldn't find him anywhere. A crash from above her gave her the answer.

“Hey Annabeth!” Leo called. He sounded nervous. Had he dropped something combustible again and needed it thrown off of the ship before it exploded? Annabeth walked towards the upper deck. “I just have a small, minor question for you. Are sky pirates a thing?”

Annabeth stopped walking and looked up in confusion. Leo sounded like he was right above her. She shook her head and spoke, “No Leo. Sky pirates are not a thing.”

“Oh. Well, you might want to come up here,” Leo called back. Annabeth frowned and made her way towards the upper deck. They had all been jumpy ever since Tartarus. The deadline was drawing nearer, and they expected to get attacked at any moment.

Considering what was at stake, Annabeth expected everyone to be jumpy. If they failed, the world would be destroyed. That didn't mean they should make up something like sky pirates. Annabeth made it above deck and looked towards Leo. Her heart dropped to her stomach.

Leo was looking at her with a sheepish grin. There was a cutlass pressed against his jugular, and it looked like any wrong movement would send the blade tearing through his throat. One of his hands was half raised, like he was going to use fire. Annabeth gave him a look that told him to wait. Then, she looked at Leo's attacker.

The first thing that caught her attention was the cutlass. It seemed to be made of imperial gold, and she almost thought that one of Octavian's Romans found them. A look at the girl dispelled the theory immediately.

Obsidian eyes seemed to be staring a hole into Annabeth's soul. Annabeth did her best to stare back. The girl couldn't have been older than Annabeth, maybe even a year or two younger. Her black hair was in a braid and thrown around her shoulder. She wore a leather coat over a set of leather armor.

“We don't want trouble,” Annabeth began. She blinked and found a second sword pressing against her jugular. “Okay. This is all a big misunderstanding.”

“Say another word, and I paint this ship with your blood,” the girl threatened. Leo looked like he was going to nod. Then, he seemed to realize that the sword was only a centimeter from drawing blood. He glanced at Annabeth, and his eyes screamed that they needed to do something. Annabeth gave him a look that said she knew.

Annabeth heard footsteps behind them, and she felt two hands roughly grab her arms. She tensed as her hands were tied behind her back, and someone took her sword. Annabeth was thrown to the ground, and Leo was thrown next to her.

“I can make a fireball whenever we need it,” Leo whispered. Annabeth nodded and slowly got to her knees. She looked at the six people that surrounded them. Three of them were men, and two were woman. They all wore leather armor, but none of them had a leather coat like the girl. Each of them had rope that seemed to be wrapped around their chest, and a half sized javelin rested on their backs. The five of them were all older than the girl with the obsidian eyes, but they all seemed to wait for her directions.

“Who are you?” Annabeth asked. She felt a vague sense of remembrance tugging at her, but she wasn't sure from where. The girl looked at Annabeth, , and her eyes narrowed slightly. The girl finally smirked.

“My name is Reyna. Well, it will be Captain Reyna as soon as I take your flying ship.” the girl said. She gave them a mock bow and then sat on one of the crates. She leaned back and propped her legs up on another crate. Her arms rested behind her head.

“Hey. This is my ship, and you are not going to take it,” Leo snapped. He tried to stand, but one of the pirates shoved him back to the ground. “I am not going to let any dirty sky pirates take my baby!”

“Someone shut his mouth,” Reyna ordered. Leo tried to fight, but two of the men grabbed him and forced a gag into his mouth. Leo still tried to yell through the gag. Annabeth slowly looked up at the pirate in front of her and tried to think of how to stall. “Lincoln and Harold, search the ship. I don't want any surprises.”

Two of the pirates nodded and quickly hurried away. Reyna lazily reached into her pocket and pulled out two coins. One of the coins was silver, and the other one was gold. Rubies rested in the middle of both coins. Reyna tossed the coins in the air, and they transformed into two robotic greyhounds. One of the greyhounds was made of pure silver and had ruby eyes. The other was pure gold with ruby eyes.

“How many of you live on this ship?” Reyna asked. Annabeth remained silent. The pirates would see their rooms and know how many people actually lived there, but it would take time for them to search everything and report back. Her friends might be back before the pirates would finish searching. The silver dog growled in Annabeth's ear. “Give her a chance to answer, Argentum.”

Annabeth stared at the razor sharp teeth of the greyhound. She quickly realized that the two dogs would tear her apart on command. Annabeth spoke, “There are seven of us.”

“Where are the rest of your friends?” Reyna asked. Her hand stroked the golden dog's head and scratched his ears. Both dogs eyed Annabeth hungrily. Annabeth swallowed painfully and tried to keep her calm. “And, please lie to me. My dogs love liars.”

“They're not here,” Annabeth answered. With the way the dogs were eyeing her, she almost felt like they knew whether she was telling the truth or not. With all the things she had seen, it was certainly a possibility. How would pirates have gotten their hands on truth telling dogs though?

“Perfect,” Reyna said. She closed her eyes. “Now, why were you flying a ship over our seas? Actually, how were you flying a ship?”

“I'm not the one who knows the technical aspect of everything. He is the one who can help you with that,” Annabeth answered, and she motioned to Leo. After a moment, Leo nodded. “What would a pirate want with our ship?”

“It's a flying ship. Who wouldn't want that?” Reyna questioned. She smirked. “Hylla is going to be pleased when she finds out about our catch today.”

“And, you'll get your own ship,” Annabeth said. Reyna opened one eye and looked at her. “That's why you were saying, wasn't it? Taking over this ship would make you a captain. It sounds like Hylla is holding you back.”

“Are you trying to turn me against my own sister?” Reyna asked. The smirk grew. “I owe Hylla my life a dozen of times over. But, you didn't come for my life story, Annabeth.”

“How do you know my name?” Annabeth asked. Reyna opened her other eye and lost her smirk. She sat forward and studied Annabeth. It took a few moments, but a memory slowly came back to Annabeth. “You were on Circe's island. You brushed my hair.”

“And, you released the pirates,” Reyna said. She closed her eyes. “Blackbeard took us as his prisoners, but my sister and I would not be prisoners for long. We became valued members of his crew, and four years ago, Blackbeard found himself on the wrong end of a mutiny. The Queen Anne's Revenge would burn into the night, along with the corpse of the pirate king. It was time for the pirates to bow to a new ruler.”

“Your sister,” Annabeth said. Reyna nodded and opened her eyes. She played with the ring on her finger. Annabeth stared at the golden ring, and she saw the symbol on it: a sword crossed with a torch. Annabeth could have sworn that she had seen that same symbol on her tour of Camp Jupiter, but for the life of her, she could not remember who it belonged to. “Did Gaea lead you to us, so you can have revenge?”

“Gaea?” Reyna questioned. She raised an eyebrow and looked at one of the pirates. “Do you know who Gaea is?”

“Something to do with dirt?” the pirate answered. From the confused looks that all of the pirates had, Annabeth knew they weren't working for Gaea. “Wait. I think it has something to do with trees? No. Grass?”

Reyna waved a dismissive hand. Her eyes slowly moved around the ship almost lazily. It seemed like she was content to relax. Annabeth spoke, “How do you find our ship then?”

“We were getting supplies in town and just happened to look up. Your ship was just docked there,” Reyna said. “This isn't the first ship that I've raided, but it is the first flying one. Hylla's going to excited about this one.”

Annabeth heard two sets of footsteps. She glanced behind herself and saw the two pirates. One spoke, “Quartermaster, we searched the ship. There is no one else aboard.”

“Perfect. Throw these two over the edge,” Reyna said. Annabeth felt two of the pirates grab her and pull her to her feet. Fire appeared in Leo's hands, and it quickly burned through the ropes. Annabeth slammed herself backwards into the two pirates.

Annabeth stood and felt the cutlass was back at her throat. Reyna had crossed the distance between the two of then impossibly quick. Leo turned with a hand full of fire. Upon seeing Annabeth's position, he lowered his hand. Leo spoke, “Let her go, or I burn down your whole little band of pirates.”

“I'll kill her if you do,” Reyna stated. Leo hesitated, but he finally allowed the fire in his hands to extinguish. The two greyhounds circled around Leo. They hadn't moved when Leo first attacked, but now, they were tense and looked ready to lunge at any moment. “That's what I thought. Neat fire trick. Maybe we can use you to roast marshmallows sometime.”

“I'm going to roast something alright,” Leo muttered. Reyna twisted the cutlass, and Annabeth tensed as she felt blood trickle from her neck. Leo clenched his jaw and stared at the ground. Reyna studied him and then slowly looked at all of her pirates. It looked like none of them had been injured.

“A duel,” Annabeth said quickly. Reyna looked at her and lowered the cutlass slightly. The move gave Annabeth enough space to take a deep breath. “I challenge you to a duel right here and now. The winner takes the ship.”

“Wait,” Leo interrupted. He stared at Annabeth and seemed to be trying to fully process her words. “How are you going to put my ship up as a prize for a duel? We kind of need this thing to save the world. I know you're going to win, but I don't want to lose my baby. Can we put anything else up as a prize? We can give them Frank.”

“You really think I am going to take you on in a duel?” Reyna asked. She lowered the cutlass completely. Annabeth did a thorough examination of the girl in front of her. Reyna seemed like she was mostly muscle, and she held her weapon casually, almost like it was second nature. Annabeth knew that a duel wouldn't be an easy win, but she was a daughter of Athena. Not many people could take her on.

Annabeth glanced around. The rest of the pirates had gathered around and were watching in interest. Annabeth spoke, “It sounds like you want to prove yourself to your sister, and I'm sure that winning a duel and bringing a ship to her would be the best way to prove that. Unless, you're scared.”

Reyna's eyes widened slightly. Then, they narrowed. The movement wasn't missed by the rest of the pirates though, and they seemed to be exchanging looks. Annabeth had to stop her smile. She knew that pirates outnumbered them and would have no problems literally throwing them off of the ship. That was why she issued the duel.

If Reyna refused the duel, she would look weak in front of her pirates. They weren't really her pirates though. Hylla was the one who was really in charge, and Reyna was just trying to prove herself. If Reyna accepted the duel, Annabeth would win and be able to take the ship back.

Reyna seemed to realize it too. Her smirk was gone, and there was a cold look on her face. Reyna spoke, “I accept your duel, but we need to set some conditions. Your friend is not going to interfere, and my pirates will not either.”

“What about the dogs?” Annabeth asked. Reyna whistled and snapped her fingers. The two dogs turned and hurried to Reyna's side. She placed her hands to the top of their heads, and they disappeared back into coins. Reyna slipped the coins into her pocket. “If you win, you get the ship. If I win, you and your pirate friends get off of our ship.”

“Let's make them walk the plank,” Leo whispered. Annabeth gave him a look. “I'm just saying.”

“I'm not making anyone walk the plank,” Annabeth whispered back. “We don't even have a plank, and we are twenty feet in the air. That would kill them, Leo.”

“They shouldn't attack my ship,” Leo whispered with a small shrug. Annabeth shook her head and focused back on Reyna. The rest of the pirates had backed away to give them a wide berth to fight.

“How can I be sure that you won't let your pirates interfere?” Annabeth asked. Reyna's eyes narrowed even more, and Annabeth looked at all of the pirates. They were seemingly hanging onto her every word. “I don't want them to help you, when you start to lose.”

“My pirate won't interfere,” Reyna snapped. She paced back and forth, seemingly agitated by Annabeth's words. Annabeth almost smiled. An agitated pirate would make the fight easier. The other pirates were watching in anticipation. Reyna grabbed Annabeth's sword and tossed it towards her, but she never stopped pacing

“If you win, you might actually be able to impress your sister,” Annabeth said. Reyna stopped walking and looked at her. Anger appeared on her face, before she turned away. Annabeth couldn't help her smile. She was finding all the right buttons to push. The first step towards winning a duel was to get inside the head of the enemy and throw them off of their game. “Isn't that all you want to do? Make her proud?”

“Shut your mouth,” Reyna snapped. She walked towards Annabeth and got right in her face. Annabeth backed away. Then, she punched the pirate in the face. Annabeth stabbed forward with her sword. She was going to stab the pirate in the shoulder and end the fight then and there.

Instead, her attack was deflected, and she was almost disarmed. Annabeth backed away and readjusted her grip on her sword. Reyna backed a few feet away and placed a hand to her bloody nose. Any trace of amusement in her face was gone, and there was a look of deadly anger. Reyna spoke, “A cheap shot is how you planned on beating me?”

“Just trying to out pirate the pirate,” Annabeth stated. Reyna glared and attacked her. Annabeth dodged the attack and turned towards the pirate. She barely dodged another attack that would had cut her throat wide open.

“You got this Annabeth! Just remember that I lose my baby if you lose,” Leo called. Annabeth spared a half second to glance back at him and give him a look. Then, she turned back towards Reyna and barely dodged an attack. Annabeth danced around the two cutlasses that seemed to come towards her from every direction.

Annabeth was forced to play defense, and she found herself dodging and rolling away from most of the pirate's attacks. Annabeth wasn't able to get anymore offense in, and something told her that Reyna wouldn't have been so aggressive if Annabeth didn't sucker punch her. Annabeth would just have to turn that aggression into an advantage though.

Reyna continued with the aggressive attacks, but after a minute or two of nonstop attacks, her movements became slower and more predictable. Annabeth dodged two more attacks and suddenly slammed her shoulder into the pirate's sternum. Annabeth slammed Reyna into the side of the ship and heard a crack. It was followed by a cry of pain and one of the cutlasses falling to the ground.

Reyna threw a wild punch towards Annabeth. The daughter of Athena ducked under the attack and flipped the pirate over her shoulder. Reyna hit the ground hard and let out a gasp of pain. Reyna tried to roll to her stomach, but Annabeth slammed a foot into the pirate's sternum. Then, she followed it up with a kick to the face.

The pirate fell on her back and groaned softly. She placed a hand to her nose and seemed to be out of it. Reyna blinked rapidly and tried to sit up. A small groan escaped her, and she collapsed back to the ground. Annabeth smiled and walked towards the pirate. She placed her sword to Reyna's throat.

Burning pain suddenly hit her thigh, and Annabeth's legs were kicked out from under her. Annabeth fell forward, and her jaw slammed directly onto Reyna's knee. Two feet pushed Annabeth backwards, and Annabeth collapsed onto her back. A cutlass pressed into her throat a moment later. Annabeth blinked a few times and tried to process how she ended up in her current predicament.

Annabeth didn't expect to lose to the pirate, let alone be outsmarted by her. Her eyes focused on the cutlass, and she blinked a few times. The pain in her jaw fell away, as she realized what losing entailed. A glance over at Leo showed he was staring in shock and looking like he was trying to say something. Instead, he just gasped and stuttered. Reyna spoke, “Do you yield, or do I have to slit your throat?”

“I yield,” Annabeth began. Reyna smirked. She started to lower the sword, but her eyes widened. She turned and opened her mouth to call out an order. Reyna was suddenly thrown backwards and skidded across the deck. The rest of the pirates rushed for their fallen leader, only to be attacked by Annabeth's friends.

Annabeth felt someone grab her arm, and she was pulled to her feet. She looked back at Percy, and a small smile came to her face, despite the fighting that was happening around them. A glance around showed that the pirates had gotten over their initial shock and were fighting back. Reyna was nursing her ribs with one hand and trying to get to her feet with the other.

“You're safe,” Percy whispered. Annabeth nodded and studied the battlefield. Jason had been approaching Reyna, only to be intercepted by a pirate. It was probably a gust of wind from him that had saved Annabeth. Frank and Hazel fought back to back but were both taking the pirates on rather easily. Leo was using fireballs to send the pirate that he fought scrambling. Piper had her pirate on the defensive. “I didn't know sky pirates existed.”

“They're regular pirates,” Annabeth explained. “One of them was an attendant at Circe's island but became a pirate after we released Blackbeard. I also just lost a duel for the ship, so Leo might be mad at me for awhile.”

“Retreat!” Reyna called. She pulled the rope off of her back and stabbed her javelin into the side of the ship. The javelin expanded into a grapple. The rest of the pirates quickly disengaged from their battle and took a running start towards the edge of the ship, throwing the javelins as they did. The javelin hit the side of the ship and expanded. The pirates jumped over the edge without another thought, gripping the rope that was attached to the javelin.

One of the pirates was intercepted by a gust of air from Jason and was knocked down by Frank. Before Frank could pin the pirate, a grappling hook wrapped around his legs and dragged him to the ground. Piper lunged forward and cut the rope. The pirate that had fallen to the ground scrambled to their feet and stabbed their own javelin into the side of the ship. They jumped over the edge before anyone could stop them.

Annabeth stared down at the rope that Piper had cut. Then, she traced the rope back to Reyna. The quartermaster was leaning against the side of the ship and had her hand to her bloody mouth and nose. It seemed like she had thrown her own grappling hook to save one of her pirates. Annabeth found herself surprised. She almost admired the pirate for such a selfless act.

“Well, look is who is the prisoner now,” Leo said. He helped untie Frank's legs and then lifted the grapple hook. He almost lost a finger as it retracted back into a javelin. “Now, I say we take a vote on what to do with this pirate. My suggestion is throw her over the edge, like she was going to do to us.”

“We're not throwing anyone over the edge,” Percy said. He glanced over the side of the ship. Annabeth did as well. She watched the grappling hooks leave the sides of their ships, and the pirates below scrambled. Frank grabbed his bow and seemed to be waiting for an order. Annabeth shook her head. It wouldn't be hard for Frank to fire a the pirates, even if they were twenty feet below them. There was no need to hurt the remaining pirates though.

“Walk the plank?” Leo suggested. Everyone gave him a look. “We can lower the ship! Or, we can do it over water. This pirate tried to steal my ship.”

“If you had a shred of honor, this ship would be mine,” Reyna said. She lowered her hand and spat blood towards Leo. It was too far away to hit Leo, but the intention was clear. Leo swore and charged forward. Piper and Jason held him back.

“Boarding a ship doesn't make you a captain automatically,” Hazel said. She crossed her arms, and Frank nodded his agreement.

“Winning it in a duel does,” Reyna muttered. She looked over at the edge of the ship and then back at them. Her hand gripped the edge. “It seems you demigods don't have a shred of honor. It makes sense.”

“Listen here, lady! We are going to save the world. This ship is going to help us do that, and you are not going to get your dirty pirate hands on it,” Leo snapped. “I use to think that pirates were cool, but you have managed to completely ruin that. Thank you.”

“You're welcome,” Reyna said. Leo lunged again, only for Piper to hold him back. Jason was staring at the ring on Reyna's finger. After taking a pained breath, the quartermaster looked over the edge of the ship once again and whistled, as if she was admiring the height.

“Wait. You got into a duel over the ship?” Jason asked. Annabeth glanced at him and nodded. “Why would you fight someone who holds a symbol of Bellona?”

“Bologna?” Leo asked. Jason gave him a stern look. “Hey. I can barely keep track of all these Greek gods. Don't even get me started on the Roman ones. And, why don't we all just get a fancy little handbook that has all of their names and domains in it. That would be pretty convenient.”

“My mother's name is Bellona,” Reyna said coldly, although she seemed to stand a little straighter. “Roman goddess of war. And, don't think you'll have this ship for long. Sooner or later, I will get my hands on it.”

“You and what army?” Leo asked. Reyna smiled coldly. Despite the blood that covered her face and the way that she was hunched over slightly, she still gave off an aura of power. Her words didn't seem like just another empty threat. Annabeth realized how lucky she was that her friends came to the rescue.

“It only took six of us to sneak aboard your ship,” Reyna stated. She glanced over the side again. “When I tell my sister about this, she is going to want your ship. Go ahead and save the world. Once you're done, we'll find you. That I can promise.”

With those words, Reyna jumped over the edge of the ship. Annabeth rushed towards the side and looked over. To her surprise, she found Reyna had caught onto a Pegasus' saddle. Reyna pulled herself onto the Pegasus in one swift movement. The pirate looked back at them and gave them a salute with her middle finger.

“Well. That was fun,” Percy stated. He looked around the deck. Annabeth did as well. There was a mess of blood, destroyed crates, burn marks from Leo's fire, and scratches from the grappling hooks. “Who is going to clean up the mess?”

“Probably the person who almost lost the ship,” Piper said, but there was a teasing smile on her face. Annabeth smiled slightly. It seemed like none of her friends were hurt, and the cuts on her throat and thigh weren't deep. Her jaw did ache, but a little bit of nectar would solve that.

“Well, I'm glad we all made it out this situation unharmed, and we all learned to never challenge a pirate to a duel for my ship. I'll forgive you eventually,” Leo said. He looked at Annabeth and smiled, to show that he didn't actually hate her. Annabeth returned the smile.

“I'll help clean everything up,” Annabeth said. The other quickly agreed to pitch in. Leo smiled, but he looked out in the distance. A frown slowly appeared on his face. “Is something wrong?”

“Do you think the pirates will really be back?” Leo asked. Everyone fell quiet and seemed to be thinking. Leo finally sighed and shook his head. He walked towards the edge of the ship and looked down. Then, Leo turned back towards the others and said what they were all thinking. “Sky pirates are the worst.”


	2. Chapter 2

Considering Reyna had allowed a flying ship to slip through her grasp, she was a little pissed. Everything had gone so well too. Her and five other pirates managed to latch their grappling hooks onto the flying ship and climb the ropes without being found. They made captives of the only two people that were on the ship. It all fell apart when Annabeth Chase challenged Reyna to the duel.

Reyna should have never accepted the duel. She should have just thrown the damn demigod off of the ship and then do the same to any of the pirates that looked at her wrong. Instead, she dueled the demigod and won, only for the demigod's friends to come in and ruin everything.

A low growl escaped Reyna, and she slammed her fist into the ground. Scipio whined and nuzzled her head. After a moment, Reyna rested her head against her Pegasus. She closed her eyes and tried to calm down. Scipio seemed to relax at her mood shift.

Reyna never expected to find Annabeth Chase again. She never expected to find the person who released Blackbeard and completely changed Reyna's life. It would have been poetic to take away Annabeth's home, but Reyna realized long ago that her life didn't work like a story. There was no happy ending for the little girl who fled home with her sister and just wanted to be safe. That was why Reyna embraced the life of a pirate. If she was going to hell or the underworld or whatever terrible place that awaited her, she was going to make sure that she deserved it.

A glance at her watch sent more anger through Reyna. It had been a hour since she was cheated out of taking her flying ship. The smart thing to do would have been to find her scattered pirates and return to her sister. Instead, she flew with Scipio to try and clear her head. It was when Scipio whined from thirst that she landed.

Now, she was crouching against a tree and feeling her ribs. It felt like a couple were broken, and that only made her mood worse. Reyna placed a hand to her nose and felt how broken it was. A growl of anger escaped her, and Scipio whined again.

“I'm fine,” Reyna muttered. She slowly stood and placed a gentle hand to Scipio's mane. “I appreciate your concern, Skippy. I'm fine. I promise. Go and explore. I'll call if I need you.”

Scipio nuzzled her hand and then took off. Reyna pushed herself away from the tree and started to walk. All she wanted to do was take over that damn flying ship and give it to Hylla. Her older sister would be proud of her and maybe actually express that she was proud. An angry sigh left Reyna.

Nothing that Reyna did was good enough. Her sister wouldn't make her a co captain, which was just dumb. Reyna wasn't an immature teenager. She knew what she was doing, and she was totally co captain material. Hell, she could lead the pirates herself.

But, Reyna would never be as good as her older sister. Hylla was a damn good pirate and a damn good leader. She had seemed to change overnight from the perfect attendant at Circe's island to a cold blooded pirate. Reyna was surprised it took so long for her sister to cause a mutiny.

“Reyna!” a voice snapped. Reyna instantly recognized the voice and tensed. She slowly turned around and looked at the Iris message that was in front of her. Hylla's scathing eyes studied her. “The others are back and told me what happened. What were you thinking?”

“Look,” Reyna began. Hylla held up a hand. Reyna looked down at the ground and bit her lip angrily. “If you're mad at me now, you're going to be really upset with me in a few seconds.”

“Why is that?” Hylla asked. Reyna looked up and met her sister's eyes. Then, she ran a hand through the Iris message. A small smile came to her face. She was going to get an ass kicking for that, but the silence was worth it.

Reyna continued her walk and kicked at the ground. Being a quartermaster was great and all, but Reyna wanted command of her own ship. She didn't need Hylla to keep a close eye on her and watch her every movement. Hylla had a fleet of ships under her command, and some of those ships had captains. Why wasn't Reyna a captain?

Another angry sigh escaped Reyna. Then, she heard talking. Reyna pressed herself against a tree and slowly tried to listen to the conversation that was happening not too far from her. When she couldn't make out the words, she slowly moved closer.

“We shouldn't move him,” a woman said. Reyna slipped behind a large tree and slowly peeked out. She looked around at a large clearing, and her heart almost jumped out of her chest. Reyna no longer cared about the conversation. The only thing that she cared about was the very large statue that was in front of her.

The statue had to be almost forty feet tall, and she had no clue how she hadn't seen it before. The statue looked like it was made of pure ivory, and it depicted a woman wearing a golden toga. A smaller woman stood on the statue's hand. The other hand held a shield.

Reyna wasn't great at valuing treasures and artifacts, but she knew enough to understand that the statue in front of her was valuable. The ivory alone would set up Reyna and Hylla for life. Reyna could buy her own fleet with a fraction of the profits that they received. There was also the gold that made up the toga. All Reyna needed to do was figure out how to move the insanely huge statue. Oh, there was also the people who were talking.

Reyna glanced at the three people in the clearing. One was laying face down in the grass, and all of the grass around him was dead. Charming. The boy seemed to be a year or two younger than Reyna. His hair was a mess that looked like it hadn't been brushed in week. He wore an aviator jacket and black jeans. It also seemed like the boy was sleeping.

A woman was kneeling by him. The woman's reddish brown hair fell in front of her face and almost obscured her eyes. Gold armor was worn by the woman, and she had purple cape that flowed across her back. Reyna looked around for the person that the woman had been talking to. When she didn't see anyone else, she heard a branch behind her snap.

Reyna turned and ducked under a club. She heard the club bounce off of the tree, and she shoved her attacker backwards. Reyna grabbed her cutlass and held it out in front of her. She stared at the short man with a goat like face that sneered at her. There was horns on his head. Was he a Faun?

“And, who sent you?” the Faun demanded. Reyna didn't respond. Her gaze moved back to the statue. All she had to do was kill three people, and it would be all hers. Hylla wouldn't be mad at her. “I'm talking to you, monster!”

“Hedge. She's not a monster,” the woman said. She practically threw herself between Reyna and the Faun. The woman turned towards Reyna. “Excuse him. He can get jumpy. I'm Gwen. What happened to you?”

Reyna slowly lowered her cutlass and realized how she must have looked. She hadn't cleaned away the blood, so her face was still covered in it. She was still hunched over slightly, as if it would stop the gnawing pain in her side. Reyna spoke, “I was attacked.”

“Come on,” Gwen said. She gently grabbed Reyna's arm and led her towards the clearing. Reyna slowly sheathed her cutlass and debated her next move. The Faun with the club, Hedge, looked ready to swing at any moment. The other boy was still unconscious in the grass.

“What happened here?” Reyna asked. She felt Gwen sit her by the fire, and she involuntarily winced. Gwen poured some of her canteen onto a cloth and used it to clean the blood off of Reyna's face. Reyna winced and looked Hedge. The Faun was now alternating between munching on a stick and using that stick to poke the unconscious boy.

“Just a minor incident,” Gwen replied. She dabbed at Reyna's nose, causing the pirate to wince. “Sorry. What happened to you?”

Reyna quickly tried to think of an excuse. Something told her that Gwen wouldn't appreciate the truth. Reyna could say she was attacked by a monster, but there was no dust on her sword. If she made it seem like the monster was still alive, they would probably want to move or look for it. They would split up.

“I got attacked by a Cyclops,” Reyna said. She shifted and allowed the pain to show on her face. Reyna pressed both hands to her side. “I think I might have broken a couple of ribs.”

“Just relax,” Gwen said. She gently rubbed Reyna's shoulder and laid her on the ground. “I can get you some ambrosia. Did you manage to kill the Cyclops?”

Reyna shook her head and winced again. Gwen looked up at Hedge and spoke, “Patrol the area and look for the Cyclops. If you find it, do not engage. Let me know first.”

“Whatever you say. Just keep an eye on that one,” Hedge warned, and he pointed his club at Reyna. He turned and walked away. Gwen watched him go and shook her head. Reyna almost smirked. The Faun knew what he was talking about, but it didn't seem like the woman believed him.

Reyna slowly sat up and watched Hedge walk away. She grabbed her cutlass and waited. Gwen turned back towards the unconscious boy and seemed to be focused on him. Reyna waited till she was sure that the Faun was gone. Then, she stood and placed her cutlass to Gwen's throat. She spoke, “If you scream for your Faun, I will slit your throat and then the boys throat.”

“We don't have to do this,” Gwen began, and she slowly raised her hands. “Did Gaea send you?”

“Why is everyone today asking me about Gaea? I don't even know who that is,” Reyna hissed. She adjusted her cutlass. After the incident with the ship, she wasn't in the mood for anymore surprises. Gwen was still in a kneeling position, so Reyna watched her hands. “I want your statue.”

“We need it to save the world,” Gwen said. Reyna rolled her eyes. How many times was she going to hear that stupid line today? Sure, Gwen needed to save the world. Those two on the ship needed to save the world. One of them was lying. What was the chance of Reyna running into two different people who were trying to save the world in the same day?

“Well, I'm trying to save up for retirement, and pirates don't have the best benefit packages,” Reyna said. She saw Gwen completely tense. “Oh, you don't like pirates? Scared of what is going to happen to you? I wonder how strong you are underneath all of that armor.”

“I don't want to fight you. We have to take the Athena Parthenos to Camp Half-Blood and heal a rift between the demigods. Gaea is not going to stop us. You can tell your mistress that,” Gwen said.

“I really don't know who this Gaea is,” Reyna insisted. Apparently, Gaea was someone important, but they weren't important enough for Reyna to know. “The point is that your statue is worth a lot, and I want it. Now, how did you even move it in the first place?”

“That was actually pretty simple,” Gwen said. Reyna felt an elbow slam into her ribs, and she instantly lost her grip on her cutlass. She felt two hands grab her, and she was thrown over Gwen and right to the ground. Reyna cried out as it jolted her injured ribs. It probably would have been a good idea to wait for that ambrosia before she attacked Gwen.

“Did you use your freakish strength?” Reyna asked with a soft groan. She slowly tried to sit up and found a sword resting against her throat. Gwen stared down at her. It took a moment for Reyna to see the tattoo that peeked out from underneath the girl's armor, and that tattoo had a gods awful amount of tally marks. “Oh, you're a Roman. No wonder you don't like pirates.”

“Oh, I hate pirates,” Gwen answered. Reyna laid back on the ground and looked around. That boy was still unconscious, and Hedge was still patrolling the forest or digging a hole or doing whatever Fauns did. “Who sent you?”

Reyna slowly debated her choices. Saying Gaea's name was probably out of the question, since she had no clue who that actually was. She couldn't just throw her allegiance around like that. Reyna couldn't admit that she just found the camp. The pirate spoke, “Blackbeard.”

“Blackbeard?” Gwen repeated. She took a step backwards. Reyna slowly sat up and placed a hand to her side. “Blackbeard died a long time ago.”

“He was captured by the sorceress Circe and kept alive as a guinea pig. He was released years ago and took all of us captive,” Reyna said. She looked up at Gwen's eyes. “Blackbeard was approached by some creepy figure that demanded we find this statue. He tasked me with finding it, or he would kill my sister. If he finds out I told you, he will kill my sister.”

Gwen studied her, as if trying to figure out whether she should believe Reyna. Gwen shouldn't have believed the story, but it was a good lie. The best lies were always ones that were half truths. Reyna looked down at the ground and spoke, “I'm sorry. I can't lose my sister.”

“And, we can't allow you to take this statue,” Gwen said. She lowered her sword. Reyna nodded and buried her face in her hands. Through her fingers, she could see that her cutlass was only a few inches away. Gwen had lowered her sword completely. “Hey. We'll figure something out.”

Reyna didn't respond and closed her eyes. She listened to everything about them. The boy was snoring softly. There was no sounds of hooves or leaves crunching nearby. They were alone. Reyna opened her eyes and looked up. Gwen had turned her back to Reyna. Rookie mistake.

Reyna slammed into Gwen from behind and drove her into the ground. She threw Gwen's sword away and placed her cutlass to the Romans throat. Reyna spoke, “I can't believe you really thought that sob story was true. Blackbeard did take us from our home, but it turns there are monsters worse than him in this world.”

Things were finally looked up for Reyna. If the Faun came back, she would just slit Gwen's throat and handle the Faun. There was no way Gwen would be able to take an advantage this time. She was sitting in the middle of Gwen's back and using her legs to keep the Romans' arms pinned to the ground. Reyna spoke, “Now, how did you get this statue out here again?”

“I did that,” another voice said. Reyna felt something ice cold touch the back of her neck. She glanced to her right. The boy that was laying in the grass was no longer there. A soft curse left Reyna. “Now, get off of her.”

“Look,” Reyna began. She tensed as the blade cut the back of her neck. She slowly stared to stand. The tip of the freezing sword stayed on her neck. “I know this looks bad. I can explain though.”

Reyna grabbed a dagger from her belt and threw it backwards. She dove forward and heard the boy gasp in pain. Reyna grabbed her fallen cutlass and turned around. Then, the ground between the two started to crack. Skeletal hands rose from the ground.

Reyna stared down at the skeleton hands and then back at the boy. She took a few steps backwards and debated her situation. Reyna could handle Romans. She could handle Fauns. This boy was different though. He wasn't natural. Reyna looked back at the statue. Then, she turned and ran from the clearing.

Running was the smart move, but that didn't stop Reyna from being pissed at herself. She knew that she couldn't take on a freak boy who killed grass and raised the dead, but running away meant that she lost the statue. Reyna lost another chance to make Hylla proud of her.

First, the flying ship was stolen from her hands. Now, she lost an ivory statue. Sure, Reyna wouldn't have known how to move it, but she could probably slowly break the statue down or just call Hylla. Her sister would have figured it out. Great. Now, Hylla was going to yell at her for not asking for backup twice now.

Reyna's thoughts were interrupted by something slamming into her. She hit the ground hard and gasped in pain. Reyna scrambled backwards and slowly looked at her attacker. A wolf circled around her. The wolf was joined by another one. Reyna grabbed her cutlass and tried to calm her beating heart. She slowly scooted backwards, only to hit something solid. Another wolf growled in her ear.

Reyna stood and turned around. She swung her cutlass wildly and barely missed the wolf that was standing in front of her. Reyna fell backwards and scrambled away. She soon found herself trapped between two normal sized wolves and one that was seven feet tall. Oh, Reyna was so dead.

“Nice wolf,” Reyna began. She slowly tried to stand. The huge wolf's fur was red, almost like the color of blood. Silver eyes stared into Reyna's soul. “Nice wolf. I have a treat for you, if you back away.”

“ _Calm yourself, Roman_ ,” the wolf spoke. Reyna stared at the wolf and blinked a few times. Did that wolf just talk? “ _You never answered my calling._ ”

“Calling?” Reyna asked. She stared at the wolf and tried to remember any kind of calling. Reyna did remember hearing a wolf howl once or twice over the past six years, but was that the call the wolf was talking about? “I don't understand.”

“ _Wolf house,_ ” the wolf said. Reyna frowned. It took her a moment to remember the dreams from almost four years ago. Someone or something had called for her to come to some place called the wolf house. When Reyna told Hylla about the dreams, she was told to stop making up stories. Her sister did seem nervous though.

“The wolf house,” Reyna repeated. She closed her eyes and tried to remember. “Lupa. You're Lupa, aren't you? There was a dream, and you wanted me to meet you. Hylla told me it was just my imagination making things up.”

“ _No. I was calling for you to come home,_ ” Lupa said. Reyna slowly opened her eyes. What did the wolf mean by home? “ _I called for you to join the legion, and you did not answer. Instead, you decided to become a pirate_.”

“Hold up. Legion?” Reyna demanded. She slowly sheathed her cutlass and stood. Her hand moved to her side. “What are you talking about?”

“ _I send dreams to those of Roman blood to join me and train in the wolf house. Those who survive go on to Camp Jupiter_ ,” Lupa explained. Reyna frowned. Camp? Was there a camp for demigods like her? “ _You would have done great things. Instead, you stayed with your sister_.”

“Look, I don't need a lecture from a dirty mutt,” Reyna snapped. She glared angrily. Lupa just studied her. “Those pirates are my family, and I couldn't just leave my sister behind like that. Someone has to watch her ass. Why find me anyway?”

“ _You must help them_ ,” Lupa replied. Reyna frowned and took a step backwards. “ _The Athena Parthenos must be delivered, but they cannot do it alone. They will need your help_.”

“That big ass statue back there?” Reyna asked. “I'll help steal it, but I'm not going to take it anywhere. They can deliver it and save the world themselves. If you'll excuse me, I have to go back to my sister and get yelled at.”

“ _You're going to run into them again, and they'll need your help_ ,” Lupa stated. Reyna glared and turned away. She pushed past one of the wolves and started to walk away. “ _Daughter of Bellona, you can't ignore the calling of your blood forever_.”

“The only thing that my blood calls for is war,” Reyna snapped. She turned towards Lupa. “I'm not helping deliver a stupid statue. Got it?”

Lupa's upper curled into something that could have been a grin or a look of displeasure. Reyna slowly backed away. She then turned and ran away. Part of her expected one of the wolves to chase after her. When none of them did, she increased her speed. Reyna kept running until the pain in her side became overwhelming. She collapsed to the ground and wheezed for breath.

Reyna slowly rolled onto her back and stared up at the sky. It took her half a minute to bring her breathing under control. Reyna slowly sat up and leaned against a tree. She grabbed the two coins from her pocket and rubbed them. Then, she heard a noise. Reyna slowly looked up at the Iris message in front of her.

“Hey,” Reyna began. She stared at the very angry image of her older sister in the Iris message. It looked like Hylla was in her cabin. “How's it going?”

“You attacked a ship without asking for help,” Hylla stated. Reyna tried to speak, but Hylla held up a hand. “You took the five pirates that you were suppose to be getting supplies with, and you attacked a flying ship. What were you thinking?”

“That I could get a flying ship,” Reyna said. Hylla's glare told her that those words were not the ones that she wanted to hear. Reyna looked down. “Look, there was only two people on board, and I won a duel. It was mine until they cheated.”

“You shouldn't have tried to take a ship with just six of you,” Hylla said. “You shouldn't have allowed your pride to blind you into accepting a duel. You don't always have to prove yourself. What you should have done is taken the ship as soon as you had the two captured.”

“Then, you hang up on me,” Hylla said. Reyna glared at the ground. “You were right earlier, Reyna. I was angry at you before. Now, I am beyond pissed. Get your ass back to the ship, quartermaster.”

“Make me, captain,” Reyna snapped. She looked up at her sister. “Why did you lie to me about my dreams all those years ago? You told me that I was making things up. I wasn't. Lupa was sending me dreams to go to the wolf house.”

“How do you know that?” Hylla demanded. Reyna crossed her arms and remained silent. Hylla growled softly. “Fine. Don't answer me. Keep being a little brat who doesn't understand the sacrifices that I have made for you!”

“What about my sacrifices?” Reyna yelled back. She stood and clenched her fist. “I always listened to you without questioning a word. We went to Circe's island, because you said it would be safe. We stayed with the pirates, because you said it would be safe. It's not safe, Hylla!”

“Get back to the ship within the hour, or you're not welcome on this ship anymore,” Hylla said. Reyna stared at her sister. Hylla glared at her and then ended the Iris message. Reyna took a shaky breath and turned towards a tree. She punched it as hard as she could.

Reyna sat against the tree and took angry breaths. If she had listened to the dreams, would she be in her current predicament? She wouldn't be a pirate, and apparently, she would have found a home. But, Reyna didn't listen to her dreams. She listened to her sister.

Reyna slowly became aware of the burning pain in her knuckles. She looked down at her bloody hand and sighed angrily. Reyna whistled and waited for a few moments. Her Pegasus landed by her, and she slowly stood. Scipio whined upon seeing the blood, and Reyna placed her injured hand to his head.

“I'm fine,” Reyna whispered. She slowly mounted Scipio. Part of her wanted to just fly off in a random direction and not stop until Hylla sent her a message begging her to come back. The other part of her knew that Hylla was too prideful for that. It didn't matter anyway. Reyna's job was to be a quartermaster, and if nothing else, she would go back to do her job.

“Let's go home,” Reyna whispered. She laid against Scipio and wrapped an arm around him. The Pegasus took off. Reyna allowed her eyes to drift close. She would try to get a little bit of sleep before they made it back to the ship. Hylla would probably be so pissed that she would make Reyna keep an overnight lookout. A deep sigh left the daughter of Bellona. Sometimes, being a pirate was the worst.


	3. Chapter 3

A loud knock woke Reyna from her slumber. She groaned and turned on her side, trying to take her blanket with her. Upon not feeling her blanket, one of her eyes opened. She glared at Aurum and Argentum. The two dogs were cured up against her, but they had also stolen her blanket. It was wrapped around the two and probably keeping them nice and warm.

“Quartermaster, are you in there?” a voice asked. Reyna debated closing her eyes and falling back asleep. Instead, she slowly got out of bed and opened the door. One hand tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes. The other gripped the door. “I'm sorry if I woke you.”

“It's fine,” Reyna muttered. She looked at her watch and almost groaned. Reyna had gotten maybe four hours of sleep. That made a grand total of twelve hours in the last three days. Part of it was due to the fact that Hylla was punishing her with lookout duty late at night. The other part was all these weird dreams she was having.

Reyna didn't dream much. She heard from her sister that demigods always dreamed about terrible things that were happening or were going to happen. Their dreams were prophetic warnings that they should take heed of. Reyna's occasional dreams involved her having embarrassing moments on the ship. Sometimes, her dreams involved her actually winning arguments with her sister.

Although, there was dreams of the wolf house, but that had been four years ago. They started a little after the death of Blackbeard. Hylla was just settling in as captain and learning how to be a proper one. She didn't have time for Reyna and her crazy, made up dreams, but they weren't made up dreams. Not according to Lupa.

Lupa: the wolf goddess. A search of the internet showed that Lupa was the supposed mother of Romulus and Remus. There was nothing about the wolf goddess training demigods and sending them off to find a home. Of course, Reyna knew she wouldn't learn much else from mortal sources. The Mist made sure they didn't see too much of the demigod world.

Reyna's thoughts moved to her current dreams. Well, they were more like nightmares. The first one started out on one of their ships. Reyna never knew which one it was, but it wouldn't matter. The ship would be attacked, and the world would be torn out from underneath her. Something would latch onto her and drag her further into the water, until the air was choked from her lungs. That nightmare started three days ago.

The next nightmare involved that young boy with the statue. He was holding his sword out at her, almost in a defensive stance, and was demanding to know where someone was. Reyna wouldn't respond. She would just attack him and then lose. That one always ended before the sword could finish coming down.

The third nightmare scared her the most. It started out in darkness, and blue eyes would appear. A man would grab her by the throat and promise to break her spirit. Then, he would take her soul. Reyna didn't sleep much after that.

“Quartermaster, are you okay?” the pirate asked. Reyna snapped out of her thoughts and shook her head. She rubbed her forehead. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up. We can talk later.”

“No. It's fine. Just a long night,” Reyna said. Her eyes studied the pirate in front of her. Brown eyes stared back at her and seemed to be examining every part of her. The pirate twirled brown hair around her finger. “What did you need, Kendall?”

“I never thanked you for the other day,” Kendall began. Reyna raised an eyebrow and didn't say anything. “If anyone else was in charge, they would have left me at the mercy of those demigods, but you're different. You used your only source of escape to save me.”

“It wasn't my only source,” Reyna began. Kendall chuckled. Reyna smiled slightly. She liked the pirate in front of her. Kendall was really hot, decent at fighting, and extremely loyal. When Kendall had been captured a few months before, she hadn't said a word about them. It cost Kendall part of her tongue, but she didn't say anything. Hylla made sure that the captors paid.

“And, you're so modest,” Kendall said. Reyna just shrugged. It was her idea to try and take the ship, so if anyone was going to be left behind, it should have been the person with the insane idea. “Are you busy at the moment, quartermaster?”

“Just sleeping,” Reyna said. Kendall nodded and placed a gentle hand to Reyna's face. One of her fingers brushed against Reyna's nose, resting against the small scar there. “I don't really need thanks, Kendall. My job is to keep you guys safe and supplied. Was there anything else that you needed?”

“I was just thinking that I could possibly pay you back somehow,” Kendall began. Reyna frowned and pulled away from Kendall's hand. The pirate didn't need to pay her back. Reyna was just doing her job. “What do you think about that?”

“Kendall, you really don't have to pay me back. It's not like we don't have an abundance of money anyway,” Reyna said. Kendall laughed, but it was almost more of a giggle. Reyna felt like she was missing something obvious. A frown came to her face. “I was just doing my job, and speaking of jobs, you should probably get back to yours. Someone put the captain in a foul mood.”

“I'm surprised someone didn't get their ass kicked by the captain,” Kendall said. Reyna smirked. “I'm off duty right now anyway. I know you said you were sleeping, but do you want some company?”

Reyna glanced back at her bed. Her two dogs had already stretched out and taken up half the bed, along with her blanket. Why would she need company if she was just going to sleep anyway? Reyna spoke, “I'm good. Just going to try and get a few hours of sleep.”

Kendall nodded and almost looked a little sad. Reyna frowned and watched the pirate walk away. Why did it feel like she had missed some kind of sign? Reyna sighed and rested her head against the door. Kendall was obviously hinting at something, but Reyna didn't know what it was. Why couldn't people just say what they wanted?

Reyna closed her eyes. Hylla was still angry at her and had put her on light duties, due to her injured ribs. Those duties included lightly cleaning the entire deck, lightly polishing all of the weapons on ship, and lightly doing all of the dishes. Reyna let out an irritated sigh and closed the door to her bedroom. She walked towards her bed and collapsed onto it.

An attempt to grab her blanket was met with her two dogs not budging. Reyna spoke, “If you don't give me the blanket, I will turn you two back into coins.”

Both dogs, rather reluctantly, got off of her blanket. Reyna grabbed it and wrapped herself up in the blanket. She was exhausted, still angry at her sister, and irritated at life in general. Nothing was going right for her. Sure, she had bad luck in general, but these past few months had been extra bad.

Being a quartermaster was the easy part of her life. Everything just came easily to her, unless it involved talking to her sister. They were arguing over everything now. They could barely get into a conversation about the weather, without Hylla blaming Reyna for it raining. Reyna closed her eyes.

It wasn't like she controlled the weather anyway. She didn't throw an offering up to Jupiter, praying that he would ruin her sister's day. It didn't matter though. It was always Reyna's fault. Nothing she did was good enough for her sister. Nothing was good enough for the great captain Hylla.

Reyna opened her eyes and ran one hand over Argentum's back, hoping for a distractoin. Her fingers brushed against the scrapes and cut marks that were near his neck. The two dogs were metallic, but they still scarred. They could still feel pain and get hurt. Reyna moved her finger from the cuts and scrapes on Argentum's back to the small scar on the bridge of her nose.

Aurum pressed his nose against Reyna's as if he could remember the day that the scar came from. Reyna wondered if the dogs remembered the pirate that abused them. Did they remember Reyna standing up for them, only to get punched across the face? Did they remember Hylla rushing for to intervene, only for Reyna to make it back to her feet and attack the pirate?

Even with their razor sharp teeth and claws, the two dogs didn't defend themselves against their owner. They were loyal to a fault, but they didn't attack Reyna when she choked the life out of their owner. The captain of the ship had wanted Reyna strung up on the mass, but it only took a little persuasion from Hylla to get the captain to leave them alone. It was hard to argue with Hylla when she was only inches from making the captain fish food.

Reyna's eyes slowly started to close, and as she was about to drift off to sleep, there was another knock. She groaned and turned her back to the door. Reyna wasn't going to answer this time. She just wanted to sleep. The door opened, and Hylla spoke, “You awake?”

Reyna remained silent and didn't say a word. She just wanted to be left alone. Hylla sighed and spoke, “Fine. Be mad at me. We're going to the Amazons. Their queen called for the two of us specifically.”

“Is it business or pleasure?” Reyna muttered. She slowly rolled onto her back and glanced at her sister. Hylla glared at her. “Don't give me that look. Whenever she sends you a message, you drop everything you're doing and answer it. When we're in the area, I'm in charge of the ship for the next few days while you are off negotiating or whatever it is that you really do.”

“It is business,” Hylla said in a clipped tone. She crossed her arms. “Don't you have duties that you should be attending to?”

“It's already done,” Reyna muttered. She rolled onto her stomach and groaned in pain. Aurum gently pressed his cold body against her injured side, which helped relieve some of the pain. “I took an inventory of everything we received from our last few raids. I sent messages out to the warehouses for our next stop at port.”

Hylla remained silent, as if she was surprised that Reyna was actually good at her job. Reyna closed her eyes and spoke, “Do you want anything else from me, or can I get some sleep?”

The door closed. Reyna relaxed slightly. Then, she heard a chair move. She opened one eye and looked up at her sister. Hylla brought the chair by Reyna's bed and sat by her. They both stared at each other for a few moments.

“We need to talk,” Hylla stated. Reyna rolled her eyes and stared at her pillow. For the two of them, talking was a gateway to fighting. “Let's start with an easy question. Why didn't you tell me about the flying ship?”

“I didn't have time,” Reyna replied. She buried her face back in the pillow. “We secured the supplies and were about to head back, when we saw the ship. Some people left it and kept saying how they would meet back there in less than a hour. I didn't have time to tell you, Hylla. I just went on instinct.”

“So, you took the ship easily,” Hylla stated. Reyna nodded. “You had two demigods at your mercy, and one of them challenged you to a duel. You won, only for the rest of the demigods to come back and attack. You called for a retreat and used your grappling hook to save Kendall.”

“Pretty much,” Reyna muttered. She closed her eyes. “Then, I ended up finding a statue. Forty feet tall and expensive as hell. I tried to get it, but there was this boy who could raise skeletons. I should have had that statue.”

“What are you going to do with a forty foot statue?” Hylla demanded. Reyna sighed in annoyance. “What was your plan?”

“To make you proud,” Reyna snapped. She sat up angrily and glared at Hylla. “That's the only thing that I've been trying to do this entire time! Why can't you understand that? Nothing I ever do is good enough for you!”

“Reyna, calm down,” Hylla ordered. Reyna glared. “Look, you're my little sister.”

“That's all I am, isn't it?” Reyna demanded. “Just your little sister. I'm not a kid anymore, Hylla. I can fend for myself! All you do is hold me down. I could have my own ship by now!”

“So, you want to be a captain?” Hylla asked. Reyna looked her in the eyes and nodded. “Do you know why I pass over you when it comes to picking my captains? It's because you're good at your job, Reyna. You know what you're doing, and I can trust that you're keeping this ship running.”

“Why can't I have my own ship then?” Reyna demanded. She stood. Hylla shook her head, but Reyna was done backing down. “If I am so good at my job, why can't I have my own ship? I'm not a kid anymore, Hylla. I can handle this.”

Hylla didn't answer. Reyna could feel her blood starting to boil. She spoke, “You just don't want to have to run your own ship. You just want to maintain control over me. That's all you've ever had over me, Hylla. Why did you lie to me about my dreams?”

“I was keeping you safe,” Hylla said. Reyna shook her head. She could have found a new life, if she went to the wolf house. Instead, she was stuck in her sister's shadow, dependent on her sister. “Reyna, you need to listen to me.”

“I'm done listening to you!” Reyna yelled. She shoved past her sister, but instead of leaving the room, she turned towards her sister. “I am so done with your bullshit! You can't even give me a proper reason why you won't make me a captain. You keep dodging all of these questions that I have. How have you kept me safe?”

“I kept you from the ghosts,” Hylla said. Reyna stiffened. “After you killed father, I took you away from those ghosts. I went to Circe's island because I knew it was safe. That sanctuary was ruined by two demigods, and after that, I did everything in my power to protect my baby sister. Do you understand the things I've had to do to ensure you were safe from the pirates. What were they going to do with a useless twelve year old?”

“Useless,” Reyna repeated. That was what Hylla thought she was. Useless. “You think I'm useless.”

“I didn't mean it like that,” Hylla began. Reyna shook her head. She turned and stormed out of the room. Reyna walked without purpose. She was going to find something they didn't need and throw it at a few walls. Then, she would throw it overboard.

Reyna felt tears in her eyes. How could Hylla think she was useless? Reyna busted her ass to learn everything she could about being a pirate. She did everything in her power to be the best quartermaster that she could. But, Hylla thought she was a useless kid.

“Hey,” Kendall said. Reyna rapidly tried to blink the tears out of her eyes. When that didn't work, she quickly wiped her eyes and looked at Kendall. “We heard yelling. Is everything okay?”

“Fine,” Reyna said. She hated how her voice shook. Reyna swallowed back the lump in her throat. Kendall studied her and didn't say a word. “Look, I just need fresh air.”

“Come get some fresh air with my friends and I. We're on the deck sharing a bottle,” Kendall said. Reyna wanted to decline, but at the same time, it would be a good distraction. Forgetting her problems with Hylla would be nice. It wasn't like she really hung out with the crew after all. “Only if you're up for it.”

Reyna looked down. She would need to be up early in the morning for the meeting with the Amazons, but at the same time, she didn't care. Reyna spoke, “Lead the way.”

* * *

“She just thinks I'm kid,” Reyna said. She was sitting along the stern of the ship and holding onto the railing with one hand. The other hand was gripping a bottle. “I'm not a kid. Haven't been a kid since I as long as I could remember. Hard to be a kid when your dad is an abusive psychopath.”

“Is that how you became a pirate?” Kendall asked. She glanced at Reyna. Kendall's friends had already retired for the night, leaving the two of them alone. “We all know that you and Hylla were part of Blackbeard's crew, until your sister caused a mutiny. There's a lot of stories going around, but I'm more interested the truth.”

“Hylla's the shining hero, and I'm just the useless kid,” Reyna muttered. She finished the bottle and shook her head. “How am I just a useless kid? I've been watching her back, and she doesn't even know about it. Does she know how many people want her head? How many people I've pacified?”

“I'm sure she does,” Kendall said. She placed a hand to Reyna's thigh. “That's probably why she doesn't want to lose you. Reyna, you would make a great captain, but at the same time, you have to see it from Hylla's point of view. The two of you are unstoppable together. Apart, you two are vulnerable.”

“I doubt it,” Reyna muttered. She looked down a the churning waters below. “Hylla is invincible. I doubt anyone could touch her.”

“So modest,” Kendall whispered. She gently moved her hand up Reyna's thigh. “You look stressed out, Reyna. Are you sure you don't want any company tonight?”

“I have to wake up early,” Reyna muttered. “Have to go meet with the Amazons. I'll probably just stand there while Hylla gets all the glory, like always.”

“What's stopping you from just leaving?” Kendall asked. Reyna shook her head. She looked Kendall and slowly got to her feet. “Reyna, you would be a great captain.”

“I have to watch my sister's back,” Reyna muttered. She felt a hand grab her shoulder, and Kendall turned her around. Reyna felt Kendall gently trace the scar on her nose again. “Do you want something?”

“You,” Kendall whispered. Then, she kissed Reyna. For a few moments, Reyna didn't know what was going on. Then, she was pinned against the side of the ship and being kissed. It was after a couple of seconds of Reyna doing nothing that Kendall pulled away. “Did I overstep my bounds?”

Reyna just stared at Kendall. Her brain refused to work. It could have been the alcohol or just the shock of being kissed. Kendall spoke, “Quartermaster, I'm sorry. I thought you were into girls.”

Reyna shook her head. She felt Kendall grab the bottle out of her hands. Kendall gripped the bottle tightly. Reyna spoke, “I need to go.”

Kendall didn't say a word. Reyna quickly hurried past her. She saw a blur of movement, and her two dogs ran to her side. Argentum stopped by her legs. Aurum ran past her. Reyna looked at Aurum and saw that he had stopped to sniff Kendall. The pirate had the bottle lifted, like she was trying to see if there was any liquid left.

Reyna quickly hurried away, trying to get rid of the taste of cinnamon on her lips. She wasn't opposed to women or men, but the entire act of being kissed sent her brain in circles. Reyna had never been kissed before, and something told her Kendall wanted much more that just kissing.

Reyna practically ran to the bottom deck. No one would be there that late at night, and she could probably find two crates to slip between. She would either be left alone or get stuck and die. Either option sounded rather appealing at the moment.

Why had Kendall kissed her? Reyna liked her personal space. Kendall touching the scar on her nose was about the limit for physical contact that she could handle. Being kissed was just completely taking that limit and burying it underneath sand. Reyna let out a frustrated sigh and walked towards two crates.

Reyna practically threw herself in between the two crates and shimmed along the side. She pulled herself out from the crates and found herself in a small little alcove. It was a place that she went to when she wanted to be alone. Everyone knew that she went down to the cargo hold when she wanted to get away from everything, but no one had found her spot.

Reyna slowly laid on the ground and pressed her face into the wooden floor. Then, she slammed her head against it a few times. Why had she acted like an idiot when Kendall kissed her? All she had to do was either push the pirate away or kiss her back. Reyna groaned and reached out for a bottle of wine. She had been saving it for a special occasion, but now, she just wanted to forget about her night. Hopefully, her week wouldn't get any worse.


	4. Chapter 4

“The two of them are the best of the best,” Kinzie began. She leaned back in her office chair and looked at the Hunter of Artemis in front of her. Thalia stared back at her with electric blue eyes. Kinzie always found it interesting to work with Thalia. Most Hunters of Artemis that she met were about a couple hundred of years old, give or take. Thalia had been doing it for only a few years, and she was the lieutenant.

Kinzie looked around her small office. Most of the clutter and paper had been cleared away. Well, it have been shoved into a few cabinets, and she would probably spend hours after her guests left trying to organize them. Thalia was sitting in a chair and studying a few trinkets that were on the desk.

One of Camp Jupiter's praetors, Gwen, was standing at the window and staring out of it. Reading her face was hard. Being told that you were hunted by a giant could be pretty jarring, but Gwen seemed to be taking it well. She didn't seem to focus on the fact that they didn't have a god or goddess handy to kill the giant. She also didn't seem to focus on the fact that her quest to deliver the Athena Pathernos was stalled.

The son of Hades, Nico Di Angelo, was currently outside of their small base with that Satyr: Gleeson Hedge. The two were men; therefore, they weren't allowed inside any of the Amazon bases. Kinzie wasn't cruel though. She bought them dinner at a nearby restaurant. It would be a nice distraction from the fact that their quest was doomed to be a failure.

Nico wasn't weak. From the short time that they met, Kinzie knew that Nico was one of the most powerful demigods ever. It didn't matter though. Transporting the Athena Pathernos was killing Nico, and it wasn't doing it slowly. Every time he shadow traveled, he took giant leaps closer and closer to death.

That was why they called back up in, but their back up was late, like really late. Kinzie glanced at the clock above her door. The two pirates were suppose to be there thirty minutes ago. It wasn't like Hylla to be late. A small smile came to Kinzie's face, despite the situation.

When she first met the two pirates, it was at the wrong end of Hylla's blade. Hylla was leading a raid on one of the Amazons' warehouses. It was also the one that Kinzie had been inspecting. She didn't expect pirates to attack them on land, but it was actually a genius move.

Kinzie's visit meant that the Amazons had been working overtime the week before to make sure everything was perfect. During her visit, most of the Amazons were given a day off, so Kinzie could inspect everything without massive chaos. When her inspection was almost done, the pirates launched their attack.

The crew of pirates that attacked them were small but skilled. Most of the Amazons were overwhelmed by the pirates, and Kinzie had the grand luck of fighting Hylla. Their fight was amazing, for the thirty seconds that it lasted. Then, the hilt of a cutlass slammed into the back of Kinzie's head. When she came to, Hylla had her cutlass to Kinzie's jugular, with Reyna standing behind her.

With her life flashing before her eyes, Kinzie negotiated a deal with the pirates. She gave them half of the warehouse's stock, along with an agreement for a partnership. Hylla pulled Kinzie into the manager's office to iron out the details, while the other pirates held the Amazons hostage.

Kinzie managed to negotiate a beneficial deal with Hylla. After a few more business visits with the pirate captain, Kinzie managed to negotiate her way into Hylla's bed. That was the beginning of a beautiful partnership. A soft sigh left Kinzie, and she looked back at the clock. Where were the two pirates?

“I'll be back,” Kinzie began. She stood and looked at the two demigods. Gwen still stared out the windows, with her arms folded behind her back. She was the perfect image of a Roman. Thalia sat back in the chair and stared at the ceiling. The Hunter must have been counting down the time in her head as well.

Kinzie walked out of the office. She wished that she could just grab a phone and call Hylla. The first problem with that demigods and phones didn't mix. Monsters would hone in on the signal and attack them. The second problem was that pirate ships probably didn't get good reception, being out on the ocean and all.

As Kinzie walked down a flight of stairs and towards the lobby, a frown came to her face. It wasn't like the two pirates to not be on time. A soft sigh left her. Something was wrong. Had the two been attacked?

Kinzie pushed open the door of the lobby and stepped inside. The two Amazons at the front desk looked at her. Kinzie spoke, “Have you heard anything from the pirates?”

Before either could answer, the opposite door of the lobby opened. Kinzie turned her head, and a smile came to her face. She spoke, “Captain Hylla.”

“Queen Kinzie. It's a pleasure,” Hylla said. She sauntered over to Kinzie and kissed her hand. A small blush came to Kinzie's face. Hylla looked back up at her. The pirate captain was wearing a tank top and pants. She didn't look like the image of a pirate captain, but Kinzie knew how fast the switch could flip. “You called for us.”

“I need a huge favor,” Kinzie began. Her eyes moved over to the quartermaster of the ship. Compared to her sister, Reyna was the spitting image of a pirate, minus a captain's hat. Her leather coat seemed to be weighing her down though. There was dark circles around her eyes, and it looked like she hadn't gotten any sleep. A cup of coffee was in her hands. “Hey Reyna, you okay?”

“She's hungover,” Hylla said. While her tone was calm, her upper lip twitched in anger. Kinzie hid her frown. She really needed the two of them to be at their best. “She'll do whatever you need. What exactly do you need though?”

“I never said I would do anything,” Reyna muttered. Hylla turned on her. “I'm only here because my head is killing me, and you wouldn't stop yelling.”

“Guys. This is really important,” Kinzie interrupted. The two pirates looked at her. “Come to my office, and we'll discuss the details. The fate of the world is at stake.”

“Oh gods. This is the third time that I heard that this week,” Reyna muttered. She winced as Hylla elbowed her in the side. “Asshole.”

“Hey!” Kinzie snapped. The two pirates looked at her once again. Kinzie sighed. It was going to be a long day. “Stop. Okay. You two need to focus on me. I just told a room full of powerful demigods that you two are our best shot at saving the world, so if I can get you two to work together for five minutes, that would be amazing. Alright?”

Reyna and Hylla exchanged looks. It seemed like the two were having a silent argument. Reyna finally rolled her eyes and focused back on her coffee. Hylla walked towards Kinzie and spoke, “Lead the way. Brief us on the people in this room.”

Kinzie nodded. It surprised her that the two had stopped arguing so quickly. Normally, they would make snide comments at each other for the entire walk to the office. Well, Reyna would make the comments, and Hylla would snap back at her.

It hurt Kinzie to watch the two of them. She knew bits and pieces about their lives. They never had much of a childhood, especially Reyna. Now, Reyna was a moody teenager who was being forced to act as an adult. Kinzie doubted that Hylla knew how to handle a teenager. It wasn't any of her business though. Kinzie spoke, “There's two of them.”

“I thought you said the room was full of people,” Reyna interrupted. She hissed and seemed to bite back a cry of pain as Hylla elbowed her again. A soft curse escaped her.

“Five minutes,” Kinzie said. She stopped walking and looked back at them. Hylla had her arms crossed and was rubbing her elbow. Reyna was leaning against the wall and had one hand pressed against her side. Her other hand gripped the cup of coffee, as if she was going to fling it at her sister.

“Ass. Hole. I think you broke my rib again,” Reyna muttered. Hylla turned towards her. Kinzie almost sighed. She loved working with the two, when they were getting along. Together, they were just a force of nature that she didn't even think the gods could stop. Apart, they were formidable, but if they were ever apart, it was because of arguments.

“Maybe you should treat the queen with a little respect,” Hylla snapped. She looked back at Kinzie. “You said there was two important people in your office.”

“One of them is the lieutenant for the Hunters of Artemis,” Kinzie said. A glance back showed that the two sisters were looking at her confused. “They hunt with the goddess Artemis and are made immortal by her. They swear off men. They're great fighters, and they have a good relationship with the camps.”

“Camps?” Reyna interrupted. Kinzie glanced back at the quartermaster. Reyna looked annoyed but not at her. “What do you mean by camps?”

“There's two camps that protect demigods and is a home for them: Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood. They didn't know about each other until recently. Now, they are about to go to war unless we help one of their praetors, Gwen, deliver a huge statue called the Athena Parthenos.”

“Is it forty feet tall and made of ivory and gold?” Reyna asked. Kinzie looked back again and nodded. “This is going to be a problem. I may have tried to steal the statue.”

“That was the statue that you tried to steal?” Hylla demanded. Reyna rolled her eyes. “Why would you steal the statue that belongs to people we are trying to help?”

“If I had known, I wouldn't have tried to steal it,” Reyna snapped. “I was just thinking about how we would be set for life. We could find a place to settle down and not have to work another day of our lives.”

“That's not your decision to make. If the decision isn't for the good of the crew, you shouldn't even begin to think about it. Your job is to be the quartermaster. Your job isn't to worry about me. I haven't needed your help before, and I won't need it in the future,” Hylla said. She turned on Reyna. The two sisters glared at each other, but Reyna was the first to look away.

“Just a useless kid, right?” Reyna muttered. She shoved past Hylla and started to walk towards Kinzie's office. Hylla glared and slowly followed after. Kinzie hurried past the two and stopped outside of her office. She held the door open for the two sisters and looked at them.

Reyna was staring at the ground as she walked. She almost seemed to be kicking the ground as well. Hylla was glaring at her sister's back and seemed to be wanting to say something. Kinzie bit back a sigh. She really needed the two of them to work together.

Kinzie glanced back into the room. Upon hearing the door open, Thalia had sat up and was looking at them. Gwen was still staring out the window. Reyna tensed and slowly stepped into the room. Gwen finally turned around, and she stared at Reyna. Then, she grabbed her sword and pointed it towards the quartermaster. Gwen spoke, “What is a pirate doing here?”

“If I had known that the statue belonged to a big, mighty praetor of Camp Jupiter, I wouldn't have tried to steal it,” Reyna muttered. “If you don't put that sword down, you're going to lose it and your arm.”

“Hey,” Hylla interrupted. She stepped between the two and glared at Reyna. “Keep yourself in check, quartermaster. Another outburst will not be treated kindly. Am I understood?”

“Understood,” Reyna muttered after a moment. She leaned against the wall and stared down at the ground. Kinzie slowly walked towards her desk. She really regretted calling for the two pirates now. Her eyes moved around that room. Hylla turned towards Thalia and Gwen.

“Kinzie, what are we doing here?” Hylla asked. Despite her earlier outburst at Reyna, she was standing in front of her sister, in case Gwen were to make a move. The praetor had lowered her sword but was still staring at Reyna. Kinzie bit back a second sigh. Sometimes, it was exhausting to work with the two sisters.

“Gwen's not particularly fond of pirates, but I don't really care who I work with, as long as I can trust them,” Thalia said. She slowly stood and looked at them. “We need help from both of you. Gwen is being hunted by a giant named Orion. I don't know if you two have ever met a giant, but they're almost impossible to kill. It takes a god or goddess working with a demigod to kill one of them.”

“Thanks to a rift between the two camps, the gods are divided with something akin to a split personality disorder,” Kinzie added. “Gwen needs to deliver the Athena Parthenos to Camp Half-Blood. That will heal the gods and the rift between the camps. That's where you two come in.”

“Hylla, we think that Orion is paying a rival captain to harass Camp Half-Blood and possibly help him get around. We need your ships to help protect Camp Half-Blood and get that rival captain away from them,” Kinzie said. “We could also use you to fight Orion. You're one of the best fighters that I know.”

“We need your sister as well,” Gwen said. Her gaze focused on Reyna, who didn't look up from the ground. “Queen Kinzie said that you can share strength with others. That boy you attacked, Nico, is a son of Hades. He's been using shadow travel to transport the statue, but it is killing him. If you can share your strength with him, we can make the trip to Camp Half-Blood before the deadline, and he will survive the trip.”

“I have a blank check with your name on it,” Kinzie began. Hylla stared at her with those black, mesmerizing eyes. Kinzie always found herself lost in those eyes. “I'm serious, Hylla. I'll pay you whatever you want. If we don't get that statue to Camp Half-Blood, Gaea will rise, and that will be the end of everything.”

“Who is Gaea?” Reyna asked. She slowly looked up and crossed her arms. “I keep hearing that name, like it is suppose to mean something.”

“Gaea is mother Earth. She wants to destroy this world, and she is going to rise soon,” Gwen explained. “That's why I have to work with a dirty pirate.”

“Dirty pirate?” Reyna demanded. She pushed herself off of the wall, only for Hylla to turn on her and practically push her back into the wall. Reyna glared and clenched her fist. She didn't say another word though.

“Wait outside,” Hylla ordered. She grabbed Reyna and practically dragged her towards the door. “I'll discuss the details. You just wait for orders.”

“If I'm using my abilities, I think I should have some kind of say,” Reyna snapped. Hylla shoved Reyna out of the room and followed. She closed the door behind them. Kinzie slowly looked back at the other two occupants of the room. Gwen was looking back out the window. Thalia was sitting in the chair and looking anywhere but Kinzie's face.

“They are the best. Trust me,” Kinzie said. She sat on her desk and stared at the ground. At the moment, those words seemed untrue. Kinzie looked out the window. She liked this world the way it was. There was no way that she would let Gaea destroy it. All she needed to do was make the two sisters work together.

Kinzie slowly stood and walked towards her door. She stepped out into the hallway and walked back towards the front lobby. One of the Amazons pointed towards the door. Kinzie nodded and took a deep breath. She slowly walked towards the door and opened it. A step outside and a glance to the left showed the two sisters.

“Will you stop being such a brat?” Hylla hissed. She shoved Reyna into the wall of an alley and grabbed her jaw. “This is a great opportunity to make a partnership with the camps and also help the queen of the Amazons. Why can't you just keep your attitude in check?”

“I'm the one who gets insulted, and I'm being a brat?” Reyna demanded. She glared angrily and shoved Hylla away from her. “How do they even know that I can share my strength? I've never told that to anyone.”

“I told the queen,” Hylla said. Reyna shook her head. “It was beneficial for us.”

“Us or you?” Reyna interrupted. Hylla crossed her arms and didn't respond. “Why keep me around, Hylla? You don't need me to watch your back. You won't make me a captain. What the hell am I even useful for, especially since you think I am a useless kid?”

“I didn't mean it that way,” Hylla said angrily .She pulled away from Reyna and started to pace. “Why do you want to be a captain so bad anyway? What's wrong with being the quartermaster of my entire fleet? Why can't you be happy that?”

“You clearly don't trust me, Hylla. If you trusted me, I would be the captain of one of your ships and inside your inner circle. I'm not too young. I'm pretty damn good at my job,” Reyna snapped. She looked down. “I'm done, Hylla. I'll help you with this statue, and then, I'm taking my half and disappearing.”

“You're not done with anything,” Hylla snapped. She grabbed Reyna's arm and gripped it angrily. Reyna turned on her sister and clenched her fist.

“Hey!” Kinzie yelled. She stepped in between the two of them. Hylla tensed and slowly looked at her. Reyna just glared at her older sister. “You two don't even need to work together for this. Hylla, you just need to help with Orion and that captain. Reyna, you need to help Gwen. That's all I want. Please.”

“I'll help. One more time,” Reyna muttered. She stormed past Kinzie and walked back towards the Amazon base. Hylla took a deep breath and leaned against the wall. She shook her head angrily.

“When are you going to tell her the truth?” Kinzie asked. Hylla slowly turned towards her. There was a deadly look of anger on the pirate captain's face. “Hylla, you have to tell her the truth. You have to tell her what your mother said.”

“I'm not telling Reyna a damn thing,” Hylla snapped. “I am not telling my baby sister that if we part, one of us will die. She can just stay mad and bitter, as long as she is safe.”

“If you let Reyna fester, she is going to lash out, and it won't be pretty. She's already threatening to leave. Hylla, you have to tell her. What if she finds out from someone else?” Kinzie asked.

“She's not,” Hylla snapped. She grabbed Kinzie angrily and slammed her into the wall. Kinzie shoved the pirate captain away. Hylla fell to the ground, clearly not expecting the extra strength that Kinzie's belt gave her. “The only people who know about it are my mother, you, and me. If Reyna finds out, I know who to blame.”

“Don't threaten me,” Kinzie snapped. Hylla glared and remained silent. “Don't ever threaten me, captain. You might be a fun lay, but I will not let that distract me from my job. I'm not going to allow you to threaten me again and get away with it. So either chill out and be respectful or leave. While you're at it, give your sister a break. Otherwise, I can find another pirate to help me take out Orion.”

“You're lucky that you're really hot when you're so demanding,” Hylla said. A small smile came to her face, and she slowly stood. Kinzie stared at the pirate captain. Then, she looked into Hylla's eyes. There was a plethora of emotions in those black eyes. Hylla was upset, but she also knew that Kinzie was telling the truth. “I'm sorry, okay? My sister is growing rebellious, and I don't know how to handle it. I don't know how to keep her safe.”

“Sooner or later, you have to trust her,” Kinzie said. Hylla looked out in the distance. “Look, I have a blank check for you, and I can also get one for your sister. I just want to save this world.”

Hylla's eyes stayed focused out in the distance. It was like she was examining the world. Kinzie looked around as well. The view wasn't that great. Company buildings surrounded them on every side. It was hard to get a view of the horizon, unless she stood on a roof. Despite that, Hylla nodded and spoke, “So do I.”

“Let's go work out a deal then,” Kinzie said. Hylla nodded and started to walk back towards the Amazon base. Kinzie slowly followed behind the pirate captain. If she could get the two sisters to work together, they could save the world. If the two sisters didn't work together, Kinzie feared what would happen.


	5. Chapter 5

Throughout her decade long service to the legion, Gwen heard all kinds of stories about pirates. The dirty thieves would sell anyone out the first chance that they were given and usually for the smallest amount offered. Any demigod who decided to become a pirate had turned their back on the gods and would quickly become nothing more than a monster. Meeting an actual pirate was not going how Gwen expected.

The last few days had been tense. The four of them would shadow travel a hundred miles at a time. As soon as their feet hit solid ground, Nico would pass out. Gwen was getting use to rushing to his side to catch him. Even with Reyna sharing her strength, the son of Hades was suffering.

The pirate wasn't faring so well either. Their first time shadow traveling involved her throwing up, and she wasn't even sharing her strength that time. When she did share her strength for the first time, she had passed out along with Nico. The pirate was no longer passing out, but she was clearly exhausted and talking about something that she called feedback. She wouldn't go into details though.

Gleeson Hedge was the only normal one, and considering he was a Faun, those words were just strange to say. Granted, he was really jumpy and had ran away a stray dalmatian that came to their camp. Hedge wasn't a pirate though, so he had that going for him.

A soft sigh left Gwen as she looked around the clearing. Nico was curled up on his side and sleeping. They would have to wake him in a few hours and make another jump. Hedge was making breakfast for them, out of something that looked like it could possibly be poisonous. The pirate was sitting against a tree and drifting in and out of sleep. The two dogs at her side were curled up by her feet.

“Whenever you need me to, I can take her out,” Hedge whispered. His gaze was focused on the pirate. Gwen shook her head. It was hard to trust the pirate, especially since she tried to steal the statue, and she hadn't even offered them an apology. They needed her ability to share strength though. “My club is ready.”

“I think we're fine for now. She hasn't tried anything,” Gwen said softly. Despite her words, she watched the pirate closely. Was this all a trap designed by Gaea? Did Mother Earth want them to let their guard down and then have the pirate slit their throats? Gwen had a good working relationship with Kinzie, which was the only reason she agreed to work with the two pirates.

“Yet,” Hedge muttered. He went back to focusing on their food. Gwen glanced over the pirate. She was shifting a lot and seemed to be having issues sleeping as well. It could have been a nightmare or a dream from Gaea ordering the pirate to stab them in the back. Gwen looked down and heard a gasp. She glanced back up and looked at the pirate.

The pirate slowly looked around and rested her head against the tree. Her hands were shaking, and her face was pale. Hedge glanced at Gwen and spoke, “Do you think she's transforming?”

“I think she's scared,” Gwen whispered. She slowly stood and walked towards the pirate. Gwen knelt next to her. The pirate glanced at her and tensed. “You okay?”

“I'm fine,” the pirate muttered. Gwen remained silent. Over the past few days, she noticed that the pirate had been restless when trying to sleep. She would constantly toss and turn and wake up looking scared. It only reinforced the idea that Gaea was talking to her and trying to convince her to turn on Gwen. If that was the truth, why hadn't the pirate already attacked them?

“You don't look fine,” Gwen commented. The pirate just stared at the ground. “You've been tossing and turning a lot. It seems like you can't get a good night of sleep.”

“If it doesn't affect delivering this statue, we don't need to talk about it,” the pirate said. She slowly placed her hands to the heads of her dogs, and they turned back into coins. After pocketing the coins, the pirate stood and pushed past Gwen. She walked towards the fire in the middle of the clearing and sat by it.

Gwen frowned as she watched. The pirate wasn't hostile. She just wasn't friendly. The only thing that she seemed to care about was the mission, which was odd. Pirates didn't care about the mission. They just cared about stealing and making a mockery of their parents.

Gwen slowly walked by the pirate and sat next to her. She spoke, “It's Reyna, right? That's your name?”

“After three days, you care about my name?” the pirate, Reyna, asked. Her gaze stayed focused on the fire. “Yeah, it's Reyna. I know you're Gwen. The freaky beady eyed goat over there is Coach Hedge, but I don't think coach is actually his first name. Death boy over there is Nico.”

“Yeah,” Gwen said. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hedge watching them. “Did your dream involve a woman talking to you? Was she made of dirt or anything involved with the earth?”

“I'm not going to betray you,” Reyna stated. She turned her head and looked at Gwen. A small smirk came to her face. “Helping you means that my sister and I get paid. The Amazons will be grateful, and that will strengthen our relationship with them. We might even work out a deal with the camps.”

“Camp Jupiter doesn't want the help of pirates,” Gwen said. Reyna fell silent. After a moment, Gwen turned towards the pirate. Reyna was staring at the fire and seemed to have shut herself down at the words. “Camp Half-Blood might be able to use your help. They are near water.”

Reyna remained silent and stared ahead. Gwen sighed and walked towards Nico. As she knelt by him and went to reach a hand out, his eyes snapped open. Nico quickly sat up and spoke, “We need to leave.”

“You need to rest,” Gwen began. Nico tried to stand, but he ended up stumbling. Gwen caught him, but the son of Pluto tried to pull away. “Calm down. What's going on?”

“We're going to be attacked,” Nico stated. He took shaky breaths. “Some woman warned me in a dream. She said we need to go.”

“Can you make another jump?” Gwen asked. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hedge had jumped to his feet. He was holding his club at the ready. Nico looked at Gwen and nodded slightly. Gwen helped Nico to his feet. Reyna was still sitting at the fire, but she was staring out into the forest. “We need to go.”

“Don't move,” Reyna whispered. “Don't move a muscle.”

Gwen slowly looked at the pirate. Reyna wasn't moving an inch. An attempt to follow her gaze was unsuccessful. Gwen glanced at Nico. He still needed to put the harness back on. That was twenty feet away, and if they weren't suppose to move, they couldn't make the jump.

“Get to the harness,” Gwen ordered. Reyna's eyes shot towards her, but she didn't move a muscle. Nico nodded and took one step towards the statue. A loud growl cut through the clearing, and everyone froze in place.

A wolf walked into the clearing. The wolf's black fur was matted and covered in something that looked like blood. There was dark holes where the wolf's eyes should have been. It sniffed the air, and its ears seemed to stiffen.

“Don't,” Reyna whispered. Her voice was so quiet that Gwen barely heard her. The praetor slowly looked at the pirate. Two more wolves walked into the clearing. Hedge suddenly yelled a war cry and ran towards the wolf. He slammed his club into the wolf's head. The other two howled, and when Hedge turned towards them, they disappeared.

“Harness!” Gwen ordered. She drew her sword and shoved Nico towards the harness. The son of Hades stumbled towards it. Hedge swung his club at where the wolves had been, as if he could harm them. “Reyna, what are we dealing with?”

A low mist started to fill the clearing. It started at their ankles and seemed to rise higher and higher. Gwen swallowed painfully and looked around. She didn't see anyone in the treeline. Reyna spoke, “Things we don't want to deal with.”

“Monsters?” Gwen asked. Reyna slowly stood and grabbed both of her cutlasses. Gwen watched the mist rise up to her chest. She could hear Nico calling for them, but his voice was muffled. The mist quickly rose to her neck and then above her eyes. Gwen blinked, and the world around her changed.

Gwen slowly looked around the clearing. The mist was gone. Her friends, and that pirate, were gone as well. Gwen was all alone. She spoke, “Nico! Hedge! Where are you?”

No one answered her. Gwen looked for the Athena Parthenos, but it was gone as well. How could everything just disappear? Her gut twisted, and she slowly looked around. The first thing she needed to do was orientate herself. The praetor looked up towards the sky, to find the sun. All she needed to do was find north.

Upon looking up, Gwen found there was no sun. In fact, there was no sky. It was just a face. She couldn't tell if it was a man or woman, but their eyes were closed. Their face was twisted in pain. Gwen took a step backwards and felt her foot hit something. She looked down at the metal helmet by her feet.

Gwen slowly turned around and stared at the field of bodies. She gasped as she recognized the faces of the Romans who were under her command. Their bodies littered the fields, along with the bodies of the Greeks. A voice whispered in her ear, “All because of you, praetor. All because of you.”

“Who are you?” Gwen demanded. She tried to move her sword, only to realize that she no longer had it. Gwen looked down at her hands and saw that they were covered in blood. “What's going on?”

“Your soul,” a woman whispered in Gwen's right ear. A man laughed in her left ear. She whirled around and stared at nothing. There was no one behind her besides trees. She quickly backed up and fell over a body. Gwen scrambled backwards.

“Blood for the earth,” a heavily accented voice said. Gwen looked around and felt her heart starting to race. Fear gripped her gut. More voices joined in. It was hard to tell what they were saying, but it sent chills down her spine.

“Oh, how the earth will be soaked in the blood of your kind,” a third voice said. Gwen closed her eyes tightly and suddenly heard a yell of pain. Her eyes snapped open, and she found herself back in the clearing. She took deep breaths and looked around.

Hedge was using club to beat up a tree. Nico was pointing his sword at nothing and swiping occasionally. Reyna was holding a man to the ground and had one of her cutlasses pressed into his throat.

The mist that had covered the clearing was now wrapped around the man who was laying on the ground. Gwen could hardly make out his features, but she could see a beard that looked dirty and like it hadn't been groomed in years. He smiled and seemed to be missing teeth, or mist was inside his mouth.

“You should know how I am,” Reyna hissed. She glared down at the man. “We have a treaty. That is why I am going to remove my cutlass from your throat, and you will leave. You will go back to your ship with the rest of your freaks and leave us alone.”

“We. Have. New. Leadership,” the man said. Every word was said in a different voice, and it sounded like he was in pain. “You. And. Your. Sister. Will. Die.”

“You're not going to lay a hand on my sister,” Reyna snapped. Mist slowly rose from the ground behind her. It started to form the image of a person, and Gwen saw a flash of steel. She made it to her feet and slammed into the mist. Gwen didn't really expect to hit a solid object, but she did. The two tumbled to the ground.

A woman appeared in front of Gwen's face. They heard a strangled cry of pain from the man. The woman opened her mouth, like she was going to scream in pain. The only problem was that she didn't have a tongue. Gwen stared.

Two hands suddenly grabbed onto Gwen and threw her backwards. She instantly jumped to her feet and watched a man pull the woman to her feet. The two of them fled from the clearing. Gwen glanced at Nico and saw that the nothing he had been swiping at was actually three men. They were fleeing as well. Hedge was still hitting the tree, which wasn't helping matters.

Gwen turned towards Reyna. Her hand was holding onto the cutlass that was stabbed into the man's throat. That hand was also shaking in rage. Reyna spoke, “Don't ever threaten my sister again. As your last breaths slip away, I want you to understand what I am going to do to everyone in your crew, if you even think about hurting my sister. Am I understood?”

“You. Will. Watch. Her. Die,” the man gasped. Reyna tore the cutlass from his throat and then stabbed into his mouth. Gwen grabbed onto the pirate's shoulder.

“That is enough,” Gwen said. She grabbed Reyna and pulled her backwards. The pirate was shaking in rage. Gwen stared at Reyna. When she had first met the two sisters, all they could do was argue. Now, it looked like Reyna was going to lose it over someone threatening her sister. “We need to go.”

“I know,” Reyna muttered. She sheathed her cutlasses and pulled away from Gwen. Reyna started to dig through the man's pockets. Gwen stared. How was the pirate going to kill someone and then go through their pockets?

“What are you doing?” Gwen demanded. She heard the sound of a club hitting a tree stop. A glance to her right showed that Hedge was looking around in confusion. Gwen grabbed onto Reyna's arm and pulled her away from the body. The pirate tried to escape from her grasp. “We are leaving.”

“Get off of me,” Reyna snapped. She gripped the small notebook that was in her hand, which looked like it had come from the body. When Reyna tried to pull away again, Hedge walked up to them and grabbed her other arm.

“We need to leave. Those voices warned of more,” Hedge said. He nodded to Gwen, and the two dragged the pirate towards Nico. The son of Hades had the harness on and looked ready to go. Nico nodded and grabbed onto Gwen's shoulder.

“You have to tell us who they are, once we make the jump,” Gwen said. Reyna didn't look at her. She just gripped the notebook tightly. Gwen sighed at the lack of response. It was hard to trust Reyna, and it felt like they had to keep a constant watch on her. How were they suppose to save the world if they couldn't trust each other?

* * *

“I am not doing it,” Hedge said. Gwen bit back a groan and looked at the Faun. He was staring down at Aurum and Argentum. The two greyhounds were laying on the ground and staring up at him. “I am not keeping a watch with these two. They might eat me.”

“You're too bony for them,” Reyna muttered. She was starting a fire and not looking at them. “They also don't like their meals to talk so much, and the only thing that you've done is run your mouth.”

“The only thing you have done is be a weird, freaky pirate,” Hedge snapped back. Reyna looked up at Hedge and made a point of flicking her lighter on. She looked back down at the fire. “Are you sure these two won't eat me?”

“They won't,” Reyna said. Gwen glanced over at Nico. He was sleeping on his side and had his jacket wrapped around him. As long as they weren't attacked, they could probably rest for a day. Gwen slowly sat by the fire and looked at Reyna. “You should get some sleep, praetor.”

“You're the one who is sharing their strength,” Gwen said. She studied the pirate. Reyna's gaze was focused on the fire, but her shoulders were drooped. Her eyes seemed to be closing on their own. “You should probably get a few hours of sleep.”

“Not with this threat,” Reyna muttered. She grabbed the small notebook from her pocket and flipped it open. Her eyes seemed to study the words on each page. Gwen studied the pirate and wondered how far she could prod.

“Who are they?” Gwen asked. She tried to relax, to let her guard down around the pirate. If Reyna thought she could trust them, she would open up. Reyna didn't respond to her. She just seemed to read through the notebook.

Gwen looked back at the fire. It was so easy for her to connect with her fellow Romans at Camp Jupiter. After they earned their tattoo, Gwen would find time to talk to them and learn more about them. It would strengthen the bond between her and the people she was suppose to protect. It also told her how much she could trust them in battle.

“Mistveil. That's the name of the ship they own, and that is what we call them,” Reyna muttered. She closed the notebook and placed it back into her pocket. “They were created by an attendant at Circe's island. It was a daughter of Hecate, I think. Whichever goddess is involved with magic.”

“Circe's island?” Gwen asked. The pirate glanced at her and then looked back at the fire. “I've heard about her in stories. Is that the same island as in the stories?”

“It is,” Reyna confirmed. She closed her eyes. “It's a long story, but my sister and I know a few of the attendants that were on the island. We worked out a deal with the captain of the Mistveil, They wouldn't attack us or raid our warehouses, and we wouldn't bother them.”

“Now, they just attacked you,” Gwen stated. Reyna smirked and nodded. She glared at the fire. “Will they be a threat to us? Will they stop up from delivering the statue?”

“If they're the rival captain that Kinzie was talking about, we're in trouble,” Reyna admitted. She sighed. “I can try and send a message to them. If they are under new leadership like that man claimed, it won't help.”

“What can you tell us about them?” Hedge asked. He sat by them and pulled out a bag of marshmallows. Gwen stared at him and watched him force a stick through some of the marshmallows.. He offered it to Reyna. After a few moments, the pirate took the stick and placed it into the fire.

Hedge tensed as Reyna's two greyhounds rushed towards the fire. Instead of going to their owner, they pressed up against Hedge. The Faun tensed and spoke, “Can you call them off?”

“No,” Reyna replied. She leaned back against a log and watched the marshmallows roast in the fire. Hedge gave Gwen a desperate look, and she just shrugged. It was up to Hedge to free himself from the cuddles of the dogs.

“The Mistveil pirates use mist, and the actual Mist, to deceive their targets. Some of them can use magic. The others can manipulate the Mist to change how things appear,” Reyna stated. She ate one of the marshmallows and sighed. “We have a saying about them. If you're sailing on a sunny day and the mist arrives, the veil is falling. Your ship falls next.”

“What about all of those different voices?” Hedge asked. Reyna closed her eyes. She almost looked a little disturbed. “How did they do that neat trick?”

“They give their voices to their captain. When they first join, they cut off a part of their tongue and offer it as a sign of loyalty. As they get closer to becoming a full fledged member, they lose more and more of their tongue, until there is nothing left,” Reyna replied. Gwen's eyes widened, and she stared at the pirate. Reyna's eyebrows narrowed in confusion, and it seemed like she was lost in thought. Reyna finally shook her head. “Each time a part of the tongue is given as an offering, the captain eats it.”

Gwen almost gagged. She placed a hand to her mouth and stared at the ground. Hedge stared at the pirate. He spoke, “Do they just eat it then and there, or do they cook it up first?”

“Hedge!” Gwen said. She stared at him. He looked at her and shrugged. “Why would they do that?”

Reyna shrugged and fell silent. It seemed like she was lost in thought, and Gwen didn't think she would get anything else out of the pirate. Gwen looked at Hedge and spoke, “I'm going to sleep. Can you take the first watch?”

Hedge glanced over at the pirate and nodded. Gwen stood from the fire and walked a few feet away. She laid down and wrapped her cloak around herself. Gwen closed her eyes and tried to relax. She didn't like the idea of any pirates, especially ones who could use magic and manipulate the Mist. Hopefully, they wouldn't be stopped on their quest to save the world.


	6. Chapter 6

Monotony was causing Gwen to lose track of the days. Her routine consisted of waking up, eating a small, meager breakfast, keeping watch over a sleeping Nico, and then getting sleep when she could. They were getting closer to their deadline, as there was six days left for them to deliver the statue to Camp Half-Blood. If they kept up their current schedule, they would arrive a few hours early. That was a big if.

Being in a constant state of alert was starting to exhaust all of them. Nico was barely able to stay on his feet anymore, and the amount of time that he was sleeping was getting longer and longer. Gwen wasn't sure if Nico would be able to handle the responsibility of delivering the statue, but he had to. Everyone was counting on him to do the impossible and save the world.

Hedge wasn't faring much better. He seemed to be jumping at every little sound, and he was clashing with the pirate. The two of them kept getting into small arguments, which had almost escalated into a brawl once or twice. It was exhausting for Gwen to try and keep her companions from tearing each other apart while also making sure no monsters or minions of Gaea attacked them.

The pirate was, well, a pirate. Gwen still couldn't get a read on Reyna. The pirate spent half her time studying the book she had retrieved from the Mistveil pirates, despite the fact that she had probably memorized the entire thing already. The other half was spent taking walks for a few hours at a time. She claimed to be training, but Gwen refused to believe that.

Gwen was torn from her thoughts as her feet hit solid ground. She immediately turned to catch Nico, but Hedge beat her to it. Gwen nodded towards him and looked around. She expected to be in another forest, but instead, they were on the outskirts of what looked like a small town.

“This isn't good,” Gwen began. She looked to her right. Reyna had fallen to a knee and was taking shaky breaths. The pirate was handling the side effects of sharing her strength much better, but it was clearly taking its toll on her as well. Reyna slowly stood and looked around.

“I know this place,” Reyna began. Gwen looked towards the first building that she saw. A few men were standing around fish and gutting them. They paid no attention to the demigods, which was probably a good thing. Gwen was worried about what the Mist would show the mortals. Would they see the large statue of the Athena Parthenos or something else? “I'll be back.”

“No,” Gwen said. She grabbed the pirate's arm tightly. Reyna slowly looked at her and then at the hand that was wrapped around her forearm. She pulled her arm away and glared. “We stay together. We don't know anything about this place.”

“I just said that I know this place,” Reyna snapped. She took a few deep breaths and then motioned her head towards a two story building that seemed to be made of brick. “That's a hotel. I know the owner, and we have an agreement going. We can get a room to sleep in and get some food. It's better than spending another night sleeping on dirt.”

“Pirate has a point,” Hedge commented. He looked at the building. “Of course, I can normally stand all of these rough conditions, but I know you demigods are a little softer when it comes to the outdoors stuff.”

Gwen crossed her arms. On one hand, it would be nice to get a good, hot meal and sleep on a bed. A shower would help her clear her head, and they needed to rest anyway. On the other hand, she really didn't trust the pirate, and trapping themselves inside a building would only lead to disaster, if the pirate were to betray them.

“Nico needs the rest. We can afford a few extra hours,” Hedge insisted. Gwen finally nodded, but she didn't take her eyes off of Reyna. The pirate studied her for a a few moments and then turned her back. She walked towards the large building.

“Keep an eye on her in case she tries to do anything,” Gwen whispered, and she started to follow behind. A hand grabbed Gwen's shoulder, and she slowly looked back at Hedge. The Faun studied her for a few moments. “Did you see something?”

“Reyna's been with us long enough for us to trust her. She hasn't tried anything yet. If Reyna really was working for dirt face and going to betray us, why would she wait this long? I know the pirate could probably beat me in combat, and there have been plenty of times that I kept watch while you were asleep. Reyna would have attacked us sooner, so if she failed, dirt face would have more time to think of something else. We can trust the pirate,” Hedge said.

“You can't trust a pirate,” Gwen said. She closed her eyes and could feel a repressed memory trying to claw its way back to the surface. Gwen could hear the screaming, and she remembered blood spraying everywhere. Gwen took a deep breath, and her eyes snapped open. “You can't ever trust a pirate.”

Hedge looked like he was going to say something else, but Gwen turned away. She stalked away and made her way into the building. Gwen looked around and was surprised that the place looked normal. A few tables were scattered around the room, and the tables were full of families eating food.

A fireplace was to Gwen's right, and it gave off a comforting warmth. Past the fireplace was a counter that a man was standing at. The man was scrawny and could have been mistake for a twig. His glasses were a size too big for him. Reyna walked towards the counter and crossed her arms.

“Quartermaster! I haven't seen you in months now. What can I do for you?” the man asked. His voice quivered, and he almost seemed to be shaking. Gwen walked closer to the them and gripped her fist. She wouldn't allow the pirate to bully this poor man at the counter.

“We need a room or two for four people and some food. Do you have anything available?” Reyna asked. She slowly uncrossed her arms and stuck her hands into the pockets of her leather coat. The man stared at her for a moment and then quickly looked down at his laptop. “Dale, do you have anything available?”

“Yes,” the man, Dale, whispered. He looked around and leaned in closer. Gwen made it towards the counter. “They were asking about you, quartermaster. I'm sorry, but I told them everything I knew. They threatened my family.”

“The Mistveil?” Reyna asked. Dale nodded. Reyna closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Dale flinched and took a step backwards. Gwen stepped in between the pirate and the counter. Reyna slowly opened her eyes and looked right at Gwen.

“Don't threaten him,” Gwen whispered in Latin. She hoped that the pirate understood how much of a warning that was. If Reyna raised a finger or even whispered a threat, Gwen would knock her into the next week. She was tired of the pirate and her attitude.

“Back off, praetor,” Reyna ordered in Latin. She slowly looked back at Dale and spoke in English. “How long ago was it?”

“A week ago,” Dale whispered. Reyna nodded and remained silent. Dale looked back at his laptop and typed into it. He then handed a key over to them. “Up the stairs and the last two doors on the left. The rooms are on the house.”

“No,” Reyna said. She pulled her hand out of her pocket and handed a roll of cash towards Dale. After a few moments, Dale took the money and looked down at his laptop once again. He looked like he wanted to say more, but Reyna simply turned and walked away.

Dale let out a shaky breath and closed his eyes tightly. It seemed like he was trying to calm himself down. Gwen heard Hedge walk up behind her, and if anyone in the hotel saw anything weird with Hedge carrying an unconscious boy over his shoulder, they didn't say anything.

“I won't let her hurt you,” Gwen promised. Dale opened his eyes and looked at her. He studied her for a few moments, as if he was unsure of what to think of her. Then, he seemed to notice Nico and Hedge. His eyes widened “Hey. I'm serious. I promise that I won't let Reyna hurt you.”

“The quartermaster won't hurt me,” Dale said. He looked back towards the door. “The quartermaster sends plenty of business my way, and I betrayed her by telling the Mistveil about her. I couldn't let my wife be hurt though.”

“Of course not. You need to do what you can to protect your family,” Gwen said. She glanced at Hedge, who was watching confused. Gwen looked back at the man. “You seem terrified of Reyna though.”

“I respect her,” Dale said. He looked back at his laptop and typed into it for a couple more seconds. He glanced up and stared for a few moments. Gwen followed his gaze to see that Reyna was now talking to a shorter woman wearing a dress. There was a black ring on her finger that seemed to match the ring on Dale's finger. “And, I fear her.”

“You respect her, but you also fear her?” Gwen asked. She studied Reyna for a few moments. The woman that she was talking to didn't seem scared. In fact, the woman laughed and said something that caused a small smirk to appear on Reyna's face. “How can that happen?”

“I was not aware that the two of them were mutually exclusive,” Dale said. He stepped away from a few moments to help a few more people who walked up to the counter. Reyna caught her Gwen's eye and motioned towards Nico. She then motioned for them to follow her.

Hedge adjusted the unconscious Nico on his shoulders and walked towards Reyna. She led him towards the stairs, and Dale walked back towards Gwen. After a moment, Gwen looked at him and spoke, “Why do you fear Reyna? What did she do to you?”

“She saved my life,” Dale said. Gwen frowned in confusion. Before she could ask for more information, another group of customers walked up towards them. Gwen took a step backwards and turned around. She almost jumped as she found Reyna standing behind her.

“You and I are sharing a room. You can have the shower first, if you want. Come on,” Reyna said. She turned and started walking towards the stairs. Gwen slowly followed. How did the pirate manage to save Dale's life but also terrify him? Then again, Gwen knew all about how terrible pirates could be.

Through either lack of sleep or just a solid feeling growing in her gut, Gwen found it harder and harder to trust the pirate. She just felt that betrayal was coming, and it would be when they least expected it. Hedge was being fooled by the pirate, and Nico spent more time asleep than anything else. Gwen had to be prepared.

Gwen followed Reyna towards the room. As they stepped inside, Gwen found herself tensing. She was alone with the pirate, and the pirate wanted Gwen to take a shower first, which meant the praetor would be unarmed. There was no way that Gwen would fall for that trick.

Gwen walked into the room and looked around it. There was a bed in the middle of the room and a small television across from it. A bathroom was to the right of the bed, and a window was on the left. Gwen slowly studied the small room that could soon turn into a battlefield. Reyna spoke, “I can have them make food while you shower. What do you want?”

“I'll order when I get out,” Gwen responded. She walked towards her duffel bag and grabbed a change of clothes. After a moment, she wrapped her hand around the hilt of a spare dagger and tucked it into the clothes. Gwen walked towards the bathroom.

Out of the corner of her eye, Gwen saw Reyna digging through a backpack. Was she trying to grab a weapon? Gwen tightened her grip on her dagger and stepped into the bathroom. She closed the door behind her and studied the shower. Gwen placed her dagger on the small shelf in the shower. She looked at herself in the mirror.

There was circles under her eyes from lack of sleep. Any sleep that she got the last few nights were not restful. Half of her days were spent keeping an eye out for threats, whether it be from monsters or the quartermaster. Gwen closed her eyes tightly as she heard the screaming once again.

“It's just a memory,” Gwen whispered to herself. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. Gwen walked towards the shower and turned it on. As she waited for the water to heat up, she grabbed a towel and heard a loud curse.

After a moment, Gwen carefully opened the door and placed her ear to the small crack that was made. She didn't trust the pirate one bit, and if the pirate thought that Gwen was vulnerable, this would be the perfect time for an attack. Gwen heard Reyna's angry voice, “We had a deal.”

Gwen clenched her fist. Of course. She knew that Reyna was going to betray her. The only thing that had stopped the pirate before was the payment hadn't gone through. Gwen tensed and opened the door enough to see out of it. Reyna was glaring at an Iris message. Her older sister was just looking at her.

“You told me that you would send me a message, but I haven't heard anything,” Reyna said. She crossed her arms. Gwen could see how white Reyna's knuckles were. “Why haven't you sent me anything? You promised that you would!”

“I've been busy,” Hylla said. She leaned against something and crossed her arms. There was a small smirk on her face. “Besides, you are the one who wanted a little freedom. As soon as you have it, the only thing you can do is bother me and nag me about not messaging you.”

“Did you even get my messages?” Reyna demanded. “The Mistveil have turned against us. They attacked me and broke our alliance.”

“They are not a concern to me, Reyna. You worry too much,” Hylla said. Reyna shook her head. “You believe in the rumors too much, and you cause the rest of the crew to get caught up in it. When you give attention to a rumor, you turn it into a myth. Repeating the myth turns it into a legend. You know that.”

“The Mistveil,” Reyna began. Hylla held up a hand, and Reyna looked down. She clenched her jaw and seemed even more frustrated than before. “Hylla, you need to listen to me.”

“I don't,” Hylla snapped. “You think that you know everything, but you don't. The Mistveil is just a little crew that uses the Mist and magic tricks to scare everyone. They are not a threat to us, Reyna. We shouldn't have even bothered to make an alliance with them. They aren't worth the time.”

“When you deliver the statue, I want a message from you. I'll send someone else to negotiate a deal with the camps,” Hylla said. Reyna looked up and stared. “I can't trust you to keep your temper. You've already angered them, and I can't risk you ruining everything.”

“I'm the quartermaster of your damn fleet. You can't just shut me out,” Reyna snapped. Hylla gave her a look. Then, she ran a hand through the Iris message. Reyna let out a long stream of curse words and went to slam her fist into the table. As Reyna turned, she seemed to catch Gwen's eyes. After a moment, Gwen opened the bathroom door completely and walked out.

Reyna looked down and went to leave the room. For reasons unknown to her, Gwen reached out and grabbed onto the pirate's arm gently. It was all too easy to see that Reyna was seeking approval that her sister wasn't giving out. Gwen knew that feeling well. The praetor spoke, “How long have you looked up to your sister for?”

“Ever since I was a kid,” Reyna muttered. She slowly looked at Gwen. “Do you have an older sister that doesn't trust or believe in you?”

“An overbearing father,” Gwen said. “I love the man, but he just has so many expectations for me. He was a great praetor in his time, and he has grand plans for me. After my mother's death, I was his only focus. I did everything I could do to make him proud. I did everything he wanted and completed all of the goals that he had for me. He just kept raising the bar.”

“It's not the same as a sister who doesn't believe in me, but I know how it feels to give everything you have, only to be ignored and treated like you know nothing,” Gwen said. She closed her eyes. “My mother brought this kindness out of him, but I haven't seen that side in years.”

“You haven't seen that side since she died,” Reyna guessed. Gwen nodded. “How did she die?”

“I was there,” Gwen said. She tried to remember, but all she saw was blood. “I was five years old, but I don't remember anything that I saw. I just remember screams and blood. My father would later tell me the story. He told me about how he took us on vacation outside of New Rome, and we were attacked by pirates. They murdered my mother.”

Reyna met Gwen's eyes and didn't say a word. Gwen met the pirate's eyes. She could still hear the screams in her ears: her mother begging for mercy. Laughter followed. Gwen took a step backwards and practically fled into the bathroom. She closed the door and locked it behind her.

Her father always told her to never trust a pirate. Now, Gwen almost felt like she was betraying him by telling the quartermaster what had happened. Gwen closed her eyes tightly and sat against the door. Tears leaked out of her eyes, and she placed both hands to her face.

Gwen needed to work with Reyna. She needed to trust Reyna, but it was so hard. The quartermaster seemed to be different from the pirates that ruined Gwen's life, but what if she wasn't? What if Reyna betrayed them? Gwen took deep breaths and tried to calm herself down.

Gwen slowly stood and looked at herself in mirror. For now, she would have to trust Reyna. The quartermaster hadn't proven untrustworthy so far, if you excluded the fact that she already tried to kill some of the seven and steal the Athena Parthenos. Gwen closed her eyes and prayed that she wasn't making a mistake that would bring the end of the world.

* * *

“We need to get moving,” Gwen said. She glanced at her watch and then looked around. Nico was strapping himself to a harness that was connected to the Athena Parthenos. He seemed as rested as he could be. It helped that they all had a nice bed to sleep on and a large breakfast waiting for them when they woke up.

Gwen glanced at Hedge. The Faun insisted that he smelled something wrong and was looking around to find it. Gwen was convinced that he just had too many spicy omelets. Her eyes moved from the Faun over to the pirate. Reyna was leaning against a tree and staring ahead.

When Gwen had stepped out of the shower, Reyna had been asleep. She woke the pirate up to tell her the shower was free, and she was asleep before Reyna finished. They didn't talk about what happened with Hylla or about what Gwen had said. Gwen could sense there was a lot less tension between the two of them though.

“There is seriously something here,” Hedge said. Gwen shook her head and grabbed her duffel bag. She turned towards the Athena Parthenos and then looked at Nico. The son of Pluto nodded to her to show that he was ready.

“I'm almost ready,” Gwen said. She shouldered her duffel bag and looked back towards the hotel. Hedge stepped next to her and muttered something about getting food for the road. Gwen rolled her eyes and looked at Nico. The son of Pluto seemed a lot better than he had the night before, and he told them that he could make a farther jump than normal.

Gwen smiled but heard a small thunk. She looked down at a small arrow that was buried in the ground. It separated Gwen and Hedge from Nico and Reyna and was an equal distance between them. The arrow had a small, black box tied to it, and there was a blinking red light on the side of the box. Gwen slowly looked up.

From the treeline, she could see a mechanical eye watching her. The thing that the eye belonged to was hiding in the shadows, but she had a feeling about who it was. Gwen's gut twisted in fear. A voice spoke, “If anyone moves, I will detonate the arrow.”

Gwen stared down at the arrow and then looked at Hedge. The Faun was right. There was something there, and that something was the giant who had been tracking Gwen. How were they going to handle an explosive arrow? Gwen glanced at Nico, and she saw a red dot was rested firmly on his chest, right over his heart.

Nico slowly met Gwen's eyes, and she gave him a small nod. It didn't matter if she died. Nico needed to get the statue out of there. Gwen felt the temperature drop, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw something flying towards Nico. Something slammed into Nico from the side, and Nico, along with the Athena Parthenos, disappeared in the shadows.

It took Gwen a moment to realize that Reyna had disappeared as well. She let out a sigh of relief. Someone would be able to watch Nico's back, and hopefully the two could get the statue to Camp Half-Blood. Gwen took a deep breath, and she slowly turned towards the archer that hid in the tree line, ready to meet her fate.


	7. Chapter 7

Nico's eyes slowly drifted open, and a soft groan escaped him. He had this strange sensation of falling, even though everything around him was completely silent. Wind wasn't whistling by him or hitting him in the face. He wasn't falling, so why did everything feel wrong? Nico blinked a few times to clear his head and looked around. He quickly realized that he was hanging from the harness that was attached to the Athena Parthenos.

It took Nico a few moments to remember what had happened. They had been getting ready to shadow travel, until an archer stopped them. Nico knew exactly who the archer, the giant to be exact, was: Orion. He just didn't know how the giant found them or why he tried to shoot an arrow into Nico's heart.

Speaking of hearts, Nico knew that the shadows didn't save him from the arrow. It should have went right through his heart, and that should have been the end of Nico Di Angelo. Instead, he was very much alive, sore, cranky, and tired. Nico looked around at his surroundings.

Once again, the Athena Parthernos was stuck in between two trees, and Nico was hanging from the statue. He was five feet above the ground. Nico tried to move his arms, but his tired limbs refused to move. An attempt to shift caused more pain, and he sighed tiredly. The constant shadow traveling was completely exhausting him, and he didn't know how much longer he could keep it up.

Both of the camps, whether they knew it or not, were depending on him. If he failed, the camps would continue to be divided and unable to stop Gaea. Nico took a deep breath. Even though it was going to kill him, he would need to get free from the harness, send a message to Gwen if she was still alive, figure out where he was, and make another jump.

Nico took a deep breath and tried to move his limbs. Everything that didn't hurt felt numb. It didn't seem like he would be able to free himself from his harness alone. His arms refused to move, and for a few moments, all he could do was flail his legs. Nico cursed softly, and a soft groan caught his attention. He looked down.

Reyna was laying on her stomach and seemed to be unconscious. The broken end of an arrow was sticking out of her shoulder, but the pirate's leather coat made it impossible to tell if the wound was still bleeding or not. Nico let out a deep breath as he realized that Reyna had taken the arrow for him. Some stranger who didn't really know him jumped in front of an arrow, to save him. Nico wasn't fooled though. He was only saved because he was needed to deliver the statue.

Nico looked around, hoping that his companions would be around. He knew they weren't though. They hadn't been close enough to lunge towards him and make it. If they had been there, they would have immediately gotten him down from the tree and made sure he was okay.

“Reyna. Are you awake?” Nico asked. Another groan escaped the pirate, and she started to lift her head. After a few moments, she slowly turned on her back and cried out in pain. Reyna quickly grabbed her right forearm. Her right hand seemed to be shaking from pain, and it almost seemed like her hand wasn't turned the right way. “How bad is it?”

“Shoulder,” Reyna answered. She slowly sat up and cradled her arm. Nico couldn't tell if Reyna's right arm was broken or not, since the leather coat covered it, almost like a piece of armor. Reyna took a deep breath and slammed her left fist into the ground. She let out a couple of curses and slowly made it to her knees. “Forearm. Broken.”

“If you can get me down, I can do my best to help,” Nico said. Reyna slowly looked up at him and looked like she was going to make a comment. Pain seemed to stop her. “Seriously. You're pale, and you need help. Get me down.”

Reyna shook her head angrily and placed her left hand to the ground. They both heard a branch snap. Nico's head shot up, and he watched a cloaked figure step into the clearing. The cloak was covered in mud, leaves, and holes. It looked like it hadn't ever been washed.

From the build of the figure, it seemed to be a woman. She was hunched over slightly, but she didn't wear anything to weigh her down. There was a few pouches on her belt, and an old, shriveled hand reached up towards the hood. The woman pulled her hood back reveal a wrinkled, dirty face and graying hair. She looked up at Nico with bright green, alert eyes.

“Stay back,” Reyna warned. She slowly tried to make it to her feet only ended up stumbling backwards and collapsing back to her knees. Reyna grabbed her cutlass and pointed it towards the woman, as the woman walked towards her. “Stand back!”

The woman continued to walk towards Reyna, unfazed. She seemed to be in her sixties, but her eyes seemed to hold ancient wisdom. The woman gently grabbed the sharp edge of the cutlass and pushed it towards the ground.

“I heard a singing in the shadows,” the woman whispered. She grabbed onto Reyna's injured arm. The pirate tensed and swung the cutlass. Nico looked away. He heard a thud, and after a few moments, he looked back. The woman had Reyna pinned to the ground and was sitting on her chest. She grabbed Reyna's injured arm and examined it. “I am sorry to pull you two off course, but I had to know.”

“Let go of me,” Reyna wheezed. The woman smiled, and she set Reyna's arm. The pirate yelled in pain and cursed in anger. “What the hell do you want?”

Nico watched in concern. He knew how strong Reyna was, even in her injured state. If this seemingly old woman was holding her down with ease, there had to be some kind of hidden strength in that scrawny frame. Or, Reyna was in a lot worse shape than Nico thought.

“Who are you?” Nico asked. The woman looked up and him and smiled. She pressed her hand against Reyna's mouth and pressed her head into the ground. Her other hand grabbed Reyna's right wrist, and she seemed to set it. Nico could hear a muffled scream, and he winced. It seemed like the woman was trying to help them, but she wasn't being gentle about it.

“I am one with the earth, just like all of my ancestors,” the woman whispered. She lifted her hand from Reyna's mouth and grabbed a small canteen at her side. The woman offered it to the pirate, but Reyna only glared. “You are poisoned. This will cleanse you.”

“Go to hell,” Reyna wheezed. She looked at her shoulder and glared angrily. Her jaw was clenched in pain, and it seemed like she was struggling to breath. Reyna looked up at Nico, and after a moment, Nico gave Reyna a nod. The pirate let out a string of curses and slowly reached out for the canteen. She took a small sip from it and shivered. After a few moments, she seemed to drink the rest of the liquid.

“I am one who listens and waits. I have been waiting for a long time,” the woman whispered. She looked down at Reyna and grabbed onto the canteen. After a few moments, Reyna's hands slipped from the canteen. “You two are strange, not from this place. We know all of the people who usually come through here. We watch this land, and we wait for the perfect moment.”

“Perfect moment?” Nico asked. He slowly moved his arms to try and get feeling back in his limbs. The woman gave off a weird but harmless vibe. Nico still didn't want to be in any kind of position where he was vulnerable.

“We watch and wait for the perfect moment to act. I have found it,” the woman stated. Nico watched Reyna's eyes slowly close. “My most powerful of my ancestors were always matriarchs of this world. We did whatever was needed, to ensure our survival. We were always at risk.”

“Reyna, are you okay?” Nico asked. The pirate didn't answer. A cold feeling settled in Nico's gut. The woman hummed and gently placed her hand to Reyna's cheek. The pirate had to be unconscious, as she didn't react or try to shove the woman away from her. “What did you do to her?”

“I simply gave her something to sleep and heal the poison that runs through her veins,” the woman answered. She looked up at Nico and smiled. Her mouth was full of rotten teeth. “I live alone in this forest, to protect my world. We were never accepted by others. They always blamed us for their woes or hunted us down.”

“And who were your ancestors?” Nico asked. He slowly started to move his right hand and ignored the pain and tiredness. He tried to free his arm from the harness. The woman smiled and grabbed Reyna's fallen cutlass. She placed it off to the side.

“Pariahs,” the woman answered. She grabbed Reyna's other cutlass from her belt and placed it off to the side as well. Nico managed to free his right arm, and now, all he needed to do was free his left arm and not completely collapse onto his face. “Son of Hades, that same poison runs through your veins.”

Nico froze. Did he get by the arrow? Nothing hit him, so did it graze him? The woman smiled and slowly pulled off Reyna's leather coat and threw it to the side. Nico looked at Reyna's shoulder and bit back a curse. Her shirt was wet with blood, and he wasn't sure how much more blood she could lose.

“They took and took and took from my people. They stripped them down to nothing and blamed us for everything that went wrong,” the woman whispered. “The only thing we were able to do was survive. We made stories to scare them away. We had to give up many things to protect our way of life, but we keep what we can.”

The woman grabbed bandages from her pouch. She tore the arrow out of Reyna's shoulder and threw it to the side. The woman then bandaged Reyna's shoulder. Even if the actions seemed caring, Nico's internal alarms were screaming. Nico frowned and started to free his left arm.

“If I help Her, my world will be restored,” the woman whispered. Nico's heart dropped to his gut, and he looked at the woman. She smiled up at him. “No longer will my people be burned at the stake. No longer will we be blamed for the misfortune of others. Mother Earth will restore my world.”

“You're working with Gaea,” Nico said. He started to free his arm but stopped. His attention stayed focused on Reyna. The pirate was out of it and wouldn't be any help. Nico just had to do whatever he could to ensure that he delivered this statue.

“No. Mother Earth,” the woman whispered. Nico frowned in confusion. “Cybele came to me and offered me a deal. If I turn you two in, she will help me restore the legacy of my ancestors. Do you know how long my family has suffered, son of Hades? We have magic, and they called us witches. They did not understand that our powers were trying to help them.”

“Son of Hades, we are both tasked with the impossible burden of keeping our worlds alive, and our worlds are very different. Only one will prevail, and it will be mine,” the woman promised. She didn't seem to notice that Nico was seconds from completely freeing himself from the harness. The woman looked down at Reyna and stroked her cheek.

“What did Mother Earth want you to do?” Nico questioned. The woman no longer seemed focused on him. She examined Reyna's face and hummed softly. “What do you want with us?”

“I was told to capture the mighty quartermaster. My cure to her demigod blood will keep her weak, until they come. She will not have a moments rest, unless they have their answers. As for you son of Hades, your flesh will make for a fine meal.”

Nico wasn't sure if it was divine assistance or just panic at the words, but he tore his left arm free of the harness and dropped to the ground. He rolled through the fall and then slammed his shoulder directly into the woman. They both tumbled to the ground, and Nico felt something wrap around his legs. He looked down to see the long grass was squeezing his legs, and it was tight enough that he couldn't move.

Nico grabbed his sword and started swinging wildly at the grass. It kept coming back, and it was almost comical, if it wasn't for the fact that the grass was squeezing his legs so tightly that it was starting to hurt. The woman hummed to herself and watched him.

If there was one thing that Nico knew, it was that the woman was not a demigod. She wasn't Greek at all, but she was very powerful. Nico took a deep breath and tried to focus his powers. He could feel the grass around him dying. Upon opening his eyes, he saw a cutlass flying towards him.

Nico dodged the cutlass and attacked the woman with his own sword. He easily disarmed her and heard a creaking sound. Nico slowly turned his head and saw a tree was starting to uproot itself. Two large branches acted as arms and pressed into the ground. The son of Hades stared and froze in place.

“What did she promise you?” Nico asked. He quickly stepped backwards and looked down at the large circle of dead grass around him. The woman had backed towards the trees and was speaking in another language. She ran her hand across her mouth and almost seemed to bite down on her fingers.

The woman removed her hand from her mouth and ran it across another tree. Nico stared as he watched the woman's fingers leave behind blood. That blood seemed to seep into the tree, and the tree started to move. The woman laughed and stumbled backwards.

“We have guarded these forests for centuries, boy. You cannot hope to survive, unless you work with me,” the woman whispered. Nico looked around for any options. Two trees had completely uprooted themselves and had two large branches that acted like legs and two more than acted like arms. Reyna wasn't moving. The Athena Parthenos was still stuck up in a tree.

“Do you really think that anyone cares about you?” the woman whispered. She walked towards the Athena Parthenos and stared up at the statue. The woman placed a hand to one of the trees. “The earth told me everything. They only rescued you, so you could deliver the statue. What happens if you manage to deliver this statue, if you don't die first? How long will it be until the camp turns against you?”

“I don't care!” Nico yelled. He felt his rage explode, and more of the grass around him died. Nico almost stumbled backwards. He was exhausting himself using his powers, and if he didn't keep himself under control, there was no way he would have the energy to shadow travel.

“You do care. Somewhere in that black and bitter soul, you know that no one will ever care about you,” the woman whispered. She laughed. “The only ones who did died, all because of you.”

The woman laughed and went to speak. Blood suddenly flew from her throat, and she gasped in pain. The woman stumbled backwards, gripping her throat. Nico made it to his feet and saw Reyna was sitting up. Two small throwing knives rested in her hand, and a third one was embedded in a tree near the woman.

“Need to go,” Reyna wheezed. She tried to stand but stumbled. Nico nodded his agreement and raced to Reyna's side. He practically dragged the demigod backwards and towards the Athena Parthenos. Their only problem was how they were going to get back to the statue. Reyna tried to pull away, but she ended up collapsing to her knees.

“Hey. Stay with me,” Nico said. He knelt by Reyna and looked at her. It seemed like her shoulder had stopped bleeding, but her shirt was absolutely soaked in blood. Nico pulled her to her feet and spoke, “Can you share your strength for another jump?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Nico watched the woman. She was choking and trying to breath. After a moment, she grabbed dirt from the ground and rubbed it on her throat. The dirt seemed to glow, and the wound on her throat began to close.

“No,” Reyna whispered, and her eyes seemed to roll into the back of her head. Nico felt the pirate go limp against him, and he tried to catch her. Instead, her weight dragged him to his knees. He stared down at the unconscious pirate. His gaze slowly moved back towards the woman.

“Who are you really?” Nico asked. He grabbed one of the throwing knives that had fallen from Reyna's hand. There was no way he was going to be able to kill the woman. She was greatly skilled in magic, and she also had two trees to act as bodyguards.

“I am a relic of a past that will not leave,” the woman whispered. She stroked the dead grass. “They came century after century, continuing to destroy my way of life. You demigods think that you are saving the world, but you are just saving yours. You are destroying my world and my culture.”

“They called it an inquisition. How many of my family did they burn? How many did they torture? Why were we pariahs?” the woman asked. She looked at Nico. “You know how it feels to be a pariah, don't you?”

Nico closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He needed to stay focused. Nico placed his hand to the grass and allowed his anger to rise to the surface. He watched more of the grass start to die. The woman stared at him and spoke, “You poison everything you touch.”

“I know,” Nico said. The woman stepped away from the blackened grass. She watched him with a grin, as if she knew he was trapped. Nico glanced down at Reyna, and his gut twisted. It was possible that he could climb the tree and shadow travel out of there. Hell, he could probably jump up and grab onto the harness. He would just have to leave the pirate behind.

If Reyna was handed over to the Mistveil, what would they do to her? Could Nico have that on his conscience? Could he let the world be destroyed just because he felt a little bad about what could happen to someone who was a stranger to him? Nico took a deep breath.

“I'm sorry,” Nico whispered. He jumped and tried to grab the harness. Upon missing, he turned and ran towards the tree that cradled the Athena Parthenos. As Nico made it towards the tree, he heard the woman speak. The tree suddenly swung a branch at him. Nico dodged under the tree and watched the Athena Parthenos shift.

Nico stared up at the tree and watched it slowly move another branch to straight itself. A glance up gave him an idea. Nico turned towards the woman and spoke, “What if we work out a deal?”

“There is no deal to be made, son of Hades,” the woman whispered. She walked towards him. Nico forced himself to stand his ground and stay calm. “There is never a deal to make with you demigods. All you do is destroy. I am going to use the powers of my ancestors to avenge them.”

The woman closed the distance between them, and Nico threw the small throwing knife. It tore through the woman's cheek. The woman glared at Nico and spoke in another language. Nico heard the third tree completely uproot itself and move. He also saw the shadows shift and heard a creaking sound. Nico threw himself backwards and curled up into a ball.

There was a deafening crash, and Nico expected part of the statue to land on him. When nothing squashed him, he slowly opened his eyes. The statue's eyes was a foot away from his face. He could see bits of branches sticking out from different parts of the statue. The woman was also nowhere in sight.

Nico slowly made it to his feet and stumbled towards Reyna. He quickly grabbed the pirate's weapons and tucked them inside her coat. Nico tied the coat to the statue and hoped that Athena wouldn't be upset about a cutlass poking her statue in the neck. Nico walked back towards Reyna and slowly dragged her towards the statue.

Nico took a deep breath and sat against the statue. Even if he couldn't find Gwen and Hedge again, he would need to deliver the statue. The next jump would wipe him out though, and that jump would just be to get them to safety. Nico took a deep breath. He knew what he had to do, and he knew it would kill him. Hopefully, his death would be painless.


	8. Chapter 8

When Reyna finally came to, she was surprised that she didn't feel the coldness of death or the heat of hell. Well, she felt heat on her right side, but it wasn't the blaze that she was expecting. Reyna slowly opened her eyes and blinked a few times. She stared at the dim sky above her. The stars were shining, and it would have been beautiful, had she not felt like she had fallen from a cliff.

Reyna had fallen from a tree instead, and everything just hurt. Her chest ached, and she was sure that she had slammed her jaw into a branch. A tooth or two may have been lost. After a moment, Reyna tried to sit up. Pain in her upper body stopped her immediately, and she groaned in pain.

After a few moments, Reyna slowly felt her shoulder. The events came rushing back to her. Someone from the treeline had fired an arrow at them, and Reyna had slammed into Nico to save him from the arrow. She was an absolute idiot for doing that. Why didn't she just let that stupid boy get hit in the chest with an arrow? Who cared what happened to him?

There was a bandage on her shoulder, but it felt wet. Her right forearm and wrist burned in pain. Reyna touched the tender area of her arm and could feel that it had been set expertly. Someone had taken care of her wound, but who was it?

Reyna lifted her head but felt the world spin. Then, she felt a small pit of pain in her gut. Her head felt like it was covered in sweat, and she slowly realized that she had been poisoned. Reyna laid her head back, and a bitter laugh escaped her.

“You're awake,” Nico said. He appeared over her face and stared down at her. “How bad are you hurt.”

“Poison,” Reyna answered. Her throat felt horribly dried, and she coughed miserably. As she became more and more aware of her surroundings, everything started to hurt even more. She let out a shaky breath and closed her eyes tightly. It felt like fire was running through her veins. “What happened?”

“Some witch used magic to pull us off course,” Nico replied. He dabbed Reyna's forehead gently. “She gave you a canteen and said that it would cure the poison inside you. I thought that the arrow that hit you was poisoned, but it wasn't. She was talking about demigod blood and said that she gave you something that would keep you weak. How do you feel?”

“Like my blood is on fire,” Reyna answered. She coughed painfully and spat blood out. Reyna slowly wiped her mouth and stared at the green liquid in the blood. She let out a few choice words and then rested her head against the ground. “Where are the other two?”

“I don't know,” Nico replied. He sat by the fire and stared at it. “I haven't been able to send or receive any messages. We're in the middle of nowhere, and I don't know if I have the strength to make another jump.”

“I'll have to share,” Reyna muttered. She stared at the sky and was unsure if sharing her strength would kill her then and there or just prolong her suffering. Reyna sat up and ignored all of the pain that she felt. “Now.”

Reyna got to her feet, but the world spun once again. She stumbled and fell back to her knees. Reyna coughed miserably, and she ended up coughing out blood. Reyna promptly collapsed back to the ground and right onto her face. She groaned softly and slowly rolled onto her back. Her eyes stared up at the sky. Sharing her strength was no longer an option.

“It's easier to make a jump with just one person,” Reyna muttered. She felt Nico grab her arm, and she slowly looked at him. “I'd rather go out in the heat of battle, but this will have to do.”

“I'm not leaving you,” Nico stated. He shook his head. “You may be rude, disrespectful, and probably evil, but you took an arrow for me and saved my life. I will return the favor.”

“Just put me out of my misery,” Reyna muttered. She laid her head back and slowly closed her eyes. The heat on the side of her face disappeared. There was no longer a soft breeze. Reyna slowly opened her eyes and found that the scenery had changed. She was laying in a temple now.

Reyna didn't feel the burning in her veins. She didn't feel the need to vomit or cough up blood. Instead, she felt almost normal. Her shoulder didn't burn in pain when she moved it. Reyna quickly stood and looked around.

There was a table directly in front of her. It was filled with numerous papers that seemed to hold war plans and diagrams. Maps littered the table, and they have writing all over them. Reyna studied the maps but didn't recognize any of the areas. Her gaze moved up towards a statue.

The statue seemed to loom over the entire room. It was carved out of metal. The statue depicted a woman, and the woman wore a full set of armor. She held a sword in one hand and a torch in the other. To the right of the statue, there was a small patch of grass that had a spear stabbed into it. Unlike the fifty foot tall statue, this spear looked like one that a demigod could hold.

Reyna heard the sound of metal hitting concrete, and she slowly turned around. Reyna stared at the armored figure that stood across from her. This figure was the same one that was depicted in the statue. There was also something familiar about them. The figure took off her helmet, and Reyna found herself staring into black eyes, just like hers.

“So, you're Bellona,” Reyna stated. She had never met her mother before. Reyna didn't really know anything about her mother. Bellona was a Roman goddess of war, and that was it. Hylla used to say all kinds of terrible things about their mother, but Reyna didn't know how much of it was true and how much was just the rantings of an upset teenager.

“What is the point of all of this?” Reyna asked. She looked around the temple one more time and looked back at her mother. It was almost funny. She was dying, and now, her mother finally decided to pay her a visit. “What can I possibly offer you?”

“You must stay focused on your path, or the world will be destroyed,” Bellona said. Reyna rolled her eyes and stepped away from the table. “The world is counting on you to share your strength with that son of Pluto.”

“I do not care what the world wants,” Reyna stated. “I don't care what you want either. I'm only do this job for the blank check. There's no feelings of duty or honor that bind me to this, so don't try to act like there is. Don't play on my emotions, because I really don't care.”

“If you didn't care, you wouldn't have taken that arrow for the boy,” Bellona stated. Reyna looked down at the ground and glared. She knew that demigods weren't suppose to anger immortals. It would only make their life more difficult. Considering she was on her death bed, she figured things couldn't get any worse.

“I took the arrow because a dead son of Pluto means that we don't get paid,” Reyna stated. She looked into her mother's cold eyes and could see her reflection. Bellona gave her a small, knowing smile. “You don't even care about us. When was the last time that you stopped by to check on us?”

“I have been keeping a very close eye on you and Hylla,” Bellona stated. She looked away. “Immortals must be careful. We are not permitted to spend too much time with our children, and it is not the Roman way to help our children.”

“Just shut up,” Reyna interrupted. She shook her head. “I hear all these stories about how gods visit their kids in dreams to give them warnings or help. So, which one is it, or are you just here to bother me?”

“Do you know why Hylla will not give you your own ship?” Bellona asked. Reyna slowly looked up. How did her mother know that those words would get Reyna's attention? “I told your sister something many years ago, and she has taken it to heart.”

“Was it that I am not ready to have a ship?” Reyna questioned. She crossed her arms. “I am more than ready to have my own ship. You two don't know what you're talking about.”

“I told your sister that if the two of you were to part, one of you would die,” Bellona said. Reyna tensed and slowly uncrossed her arms. Bellona was watching her with dead serious eyes. “Your sister clung to those words and became obsessed over them. She thinks that if you get your own ship, that will be the two of you parting. Hylla doesn't understand that people can part mentally but still be with each other physically.”

“What the hell is that suppose to mean?” Reyna demanded. Her mother didn't answer her. In fact, she turned away. Reyna glared at her mother's back. “Hey! This isn't the time for you tell me a riddle. Give me a straight answer!”

Reyna took a step forward but felt her foot miss solid ground. She felt the sudden weightlessness of falling, and her eyes snapped open. Reyna took deep breaths and tried to sit up. Pain tore through her shoulder, and she cried out in pain.

Reyna felt a cloth press against her forehead, and she slowly focused on the world around her. It seemed like there was a larger fire burning near her, and she could smell food. Her stomach growled at the thought of it, but she felt nauseous a second later.

“Stay awake,” a voice ordered. Reyna blinked a few times and stared up at the coach. He was holding the cloth to her head and staring down at her with those beady little eyes. Reyna groaned softly. The dream felt like it had only lasted a few minutes, but unless the Faun had gained magical powers, she was asleep for at least a few hours if not a day or two. “Don't move though.”

“Where are we?” Reyna groaned. Her throat burned in pain, but Hedge slowly gave her a canteen. She took a small sip and was reminded of the soup that their ship's chef would make for her or Hylla's birthday. It was based on an Alcapurrias and almost tasted just like home.

“Somewhere safe,” Hedge replied. He wiped Reyna's forehead again. Then, he turned back towards the fire. It seemed like he was making food. Reyna tried to lift her head, but her head pounded in pain. She slowly laid her head back against the ground, and before she knew it, she was falling asleep once again.

* * *

When Reyna came back to the consciousness again, she could just feel the tension in the air. It took her a few moments to attempt to life her head, but her head felt like it was filled with cement. She laid her head back on the ground and closed her eyes tightly.

The ground beneath her felt more solid, like stone. She slowly turned her head to the side and stared at park that they were in. Nico was laying ten feet away from her and laying in grass, but he looked different. It was almost like he wasn't solid. Reyna closed her eyes. She knew that her condition was bad, but Nico looked like he was on death's door. How was the boy suppose to deliver the statue, if he was in a worse shape than Reyna? What was the point of taking an arrow for him if he wasn't going to be able to get the job done?

“Gleeson, we do not have many choices,” Gwen stated. Her voice sounded muffled and like it was far away. Reyna slowly turned her head and looked at Hedge and Gwen. They were only five feet away. Both of them looked exhausted but also like they were on high alert. “Our next jump has to be the furthest one yet, if we are going to make it Camp Half-Blood. We are running out of time.”

“We need a new plan,” Hedge stated. “Another use or two of Nico's powers is going to kill him. Nature magic is only helping so much, but I can't perform any miracles. We need the pirate to share her strength with him, but she is on death's door as well.”

Reyna closed her eyes and listened to the two of them. She didn't know if she was close to dying or not, but she just felt weak. Just moving her head felt like it took a large amount of effort. She didn't know how she would be able to stand, let alone share her strength. Reyna also didn't know why the demigods didn't just shadow travel without her. She was weak and useless. They should have just left her.

“Wait. Pirate's waking,” Hedge commented. He walked towards Reyna and knelt by her. After a few moments, Reyna looked at the Faun. “Hey pirate. You need to stay with me. Got it? We can't have you passing out anymore.”

“Leave me,” Reyna answered. She blinked a few times and tried to focus on Hedge. Everything felt like it was slipping away once again. Gwen crouched down by her and placed the back of her hand to Reyna's forehead. “It's one less person for Nico to shadow travel with.”

“Romans don't leave anyone behind,” Gwen said. She gently grabbed Reyna's uninjured shoulder and squeezed it. “You just rest. We'll figure out a new plan.”

“We're sitting ducks,” Reyna muttered. Her eyes slowly closed. Just talking felt like it had drained her of energy. She could hear Gwen talking to her, but Reyna couldn't make out what the words were. Her world slipped away.

* * *

Reyna's eyes snapped open, and she took a deep breath. Her senses felt like they were on high alert, even if she was exhausted. Reyna slowly looked around and stared at the scene in front of her. Gwen was standing against a tree, and an arrow was pressed into her throat. The arrow rested on a bow, and that bow belonged to a tall man.

Reyna blinked a few times and looked around. Nico was laying near the statue, and his sword had been thrown to the side. He had both hands to his face, and blood seemed to be trickling from his fingers. Hedge was slowly getting to his feet.

“You cannot hope to win, praetor. This fight is futile,” the man said. Reyna slowly sat up and scooted backwards. She could barely make out the features of the man, considering the world was practically spinning. She did see what looked to be a robotic eye examining Gwen. The praetor had a look of determination on her face, and she didn't seem too scared about the arrow that was pressed against her jugular. Reyna traced the arrow to the bow and then to the fingers of the man. The string of the bow was pulled back, and if it was released, that would be the end of Gwen.

Reyna watched Hedge stand. The Faun grabbed his club and seemed to raise it. Gwen moved her head slightly and seemed to met his eyes. It seemed like the two had a silent communication, and Hedge nodded. The Faun turned and raced towards Nico.

The man turned his head and scowled. He removed the arrow from Gwen's throat with lightning speed and fired it at Hedge. Reyna slammed into the Faun, and as the two tumbled to the ground, Reyna heard an arrow fly past their heads.

“You're not going to stop them, Orion. I will destroy you,” Gwen promised. Reyna slowly looked up. She could see Gwen was now attacking the man. Reyna felt someone grab her by the back of her shirt and drag her towards Nico.

“We have to help her,” Nico said. He had made it to his feet but had one hand to his nose, which was pouring blood. Hedge looked back and shook his head. There was a sad look on his face but determination in his eyes. “We can't just leave her to fight Orion.”

“Gwen can handle it. We still need to deliver the statue. And, we're running out of time,” Hedge said. Reyna slowly looked down at her watch and stared. It was the day of their deadline. How long had she been unconscious? How far were they from their goal? “Nico, can you do this?”

“I have to,” Nico said, but he didn't sound sure of himself. Nico grabbed the harness and took a shaky breath. Reyna slowly placed a hand to his arm and looked at him. She gave him a small nod. Even if it killed her, they were going to get the job done. Reyna didn't leave jobs unfinished.

Reyna closed her eyes and felt a burning deep in her soul. She felt the darkness pull her in, and there was a strange feeling of weightlessness. Her feet hit solid ground, and her legs instantly went out on her. Reyna collapsed to the ground and tried to breath. Instead, she choked on blood.

Reyna pressed her head into the ground and tried to stop the panic that was taking over. She couldn't breath, and it felt like any air in her lungs had been replace by blood. Her eyes slowly took in her surroundings. It seemed like they were on a hill, and down below, she could see two armies clashing with each other. They all seemed to slowly notice the statue and stop fighting.

“We're here. You need to stay with me,” Hedge ordered. His voice sounded so far away. Reyna looked up at the Faun. Her eyes swept across the battlefield one more time and focused on the Athena Parthenos. She was going to die delivering that stupid statue, and hopefully, doing that bit of good would help balance out all of the evil she had done in her life. Reyna closed her eyes, and she felt everything slip away one last time


	9. Chapter 9

As Reyna found herself waking up once again, an annoyed groan escaped her. She was tired of being in pain and not being able to stay awake for more than five minutes. There was also the whole part where she was coughing up blood. Reyna's eyes snapped open. She vividly remembered choking on blood, so how was she alive right now?

Reyna's eyes slowly moved around the room she was in. It seemed to be some kind of infirmary. Reyna turned her head and saw Nico laying in a bed. He looked pale, but he was alive. Another boy was standing near Nico and seemed to be lecturing him. The boy had blonde hair that looked ruffled from a hand repeatedly running through it and bloodshot blue eyes.

“I am not arguing with you, Nico. You need to rest. Everyone is worried about,” the boy said. He crossed his arms and looked down at Nico. “No more shadow traveling for the next month. Got it?”

“I guess,” Nico said. He rolled his eyes dramatically. “I'll stay in the infirmary, Will. You don't need to hunt me down.”

“Oddly, I don't believe you,” Will said. He shook his head and seemed to notice Reyna. He turned towards her. Reyna slowly sat up and looked down at herself. She was wearing an orange shirt that was a size too big for her and what looked like a spare pair of Hylla's sweatpants.

Reyna could see the bandage that was peeking out from underneath her shirt. Her shoulder felt stiff, and she didn't think that she could move it. There was a small brace around her forearm and wrist. Reyna slowly looked at Will and spoke, “Where am I?”

“Camp Half-Blood,” Will answered. He walked towards her and seemed to study her. “You lost a lot of blood, and that poison hit you hard. We gave you an antidote, but you need to make sure to take it nice and easy for the next coupe of days.”

“What about the war with the dirt woman. Gaea?” Reyna asked. She glanced at Nico. “The statue. That wasn't a weird dream, right?”

“You two delivered it and helped stop the civil war between the demigods. Gaea still rose, but we were able to defeat her with our combined forces,” Will answered. He looked at both of them. “I will be back. Neither of you move.”

Will walked out of the infirmary. Reyna wanted nothing more than to stand up and leave,but she could feel how exhausted she was. Reyna slowly laid back on the bed and spoke, “What about Gwen?”

“Gwen killed Orion with a blessing from a goddess and a lot of anger,” Nico replied. He laid his head back. “She was injured, but she'll be fine. I heard that Hylla and the queen of the Amazons managed to take out the rival pirate captain. It was someone from the Vanguards.”

Reyna chuckled and spoke, “They're not even a rival. They're just a couple of demigods who picked up a history book and thought they could be great like pirates of old. Gaea was must have been real desperate if she was hiring them.”

The words had brought a smirk to Reyna's face, but she slowly lost the smirk. The Mistveil was still a problem. They had attacked Reyna and broken their alliance, even if Gaea wasn't involved. Hylla didn't think they were a threat, but Reyna knew they were. She had seen enough rival pirates to know whether or not her sister needed to worry about another crew, and both of the daughters of Bellona needed to be focused on the Mistveil.

The Mistveil would be another problem for another day. At the moment, she had a much more pressing matter. Where the hell was her leather coat? Her eyes glanced around the room, and she saw her weapons and backpack were on a table near the bed. Reyna slowly sat up and grabbed the backpack. Upon lifting it slightly, she knew that her leather coat wasn't inside.

“Did my leather coat get left behind?” Reyna asked. She glanced at Nico, and the son of Hades nodded. Reyna looked down and shook her head. She slowly laid back on the bed and groaned at the fresh pain in her shoulder. “Damn it.”

“It got left behind when Orion attack. Sorry,” Nico said. Reyna waved her hand, like it wasn't a big deal. She wanted to act like it was, but that coat had been with her for about four years now. Reyna had found it during her first successful raid, and she wore it everyday since.

Reyna let out a pained sigh and closed her eyes. Her stomach gnawed from hunger, and her head was starting to hurt. Reyna would need to find some kind of food and something to drink. After that, painkillers or even ambrosia would be nice. Reyna glanced over at Nico.

Nico was staring up at the ceiling and seemed to be lost in thought. His face was still pale, but his body looked solid now. It didn't look like he would turn into a ghost anymore. Reyna looked away. Nico had used more than his energy than he should have to shadow travel with Reyna. He hadn't left her behind.

“I owe you,” Reyna stated. She didn't look up at Nico. He would probably try to protest and claim that he was noble or some bullshit like that. Reyna didn't really care. The boy had saved her life, and she owed him. “Don't argue with me, Nico.”

Reyna slowly reached towards her belt and into one of her pouches. She pulled out a necklace and studied it. A small torch crossed with a sword rested slightly below a skull. It was the same symbol that was on their ship's flag. Anyone in Hylla's crew would recognize it.

Reyna tossed the necklace towards Nico and spoke, “It's a symbol of our crew. It shows that you are an ally, and you can turn it into my sister or I for a favor.”

“Thank you,” Nico said awkwardly. Reyna didn't say a word. She just closed her eyes. Reyna didn't like to owe people. That meant she would have to do something to tilt the scales back into her favor. It was nice to have people owe her, so she could have leverage over them. “There's something I wanted to ask you.”

Reyna bit back a sigh, and she opened one of her eyes. Nico opened his mouth to say something, but the sound of hooves interrupted them. Her eyes slowly moved to the door of the infirmary, and she studied Annabeth Chase. For a few moments, Annabeth watched her. Reyna's attention shot towards the creature that was also at the door.

The creature had the body of a horse, but the upper half of a man. Reyna had seen plenty of Centaurs in her time, but none of them looked this refined. Most of the ones she met had been covered in paint and having the wildest party of their lives. They called themselves the party ponies or something like that, and coincidentally, Reyna's first time meeting them was also the first time she had gotten drunk. She still didn't remember that week.

“You must be Reyna,” the Centaur greeted. He smiled and walked towards her. Reyna blinked a few times and slowly sat up. The Centaur held up a hand. “My name is Chiron. I wanted to thank you for helping us return the Athena Parthenos.”

“Chiron? Like the stories?” Reyna asked. She frowned and studied the Centaur in front of her. In her free time, Reyna read plenty of mythological stories, so she knew about the legend that was Chiron, but he was long gone. “How?”

“I asked Zeus to be able to train heroes, and that is what I do here at Camp Half-Blood,” Chiron answered. He smiled and studied her. “You are welcome to rest as long as you need.”

“I need to find my sister,” Reyna began. Annabeth gave Chiron a look, but if he noticed it, he didn't say anything. He just smiled at Reyna.

“Your sister is here. We just finished working out a deal. She said that she would visit you soon,” Chiron said. Reyna nodded slightly. She wasn't surprised that her sister didn't drop everything to see her or even make it a priority. That was just how Hylla was. “Your sister also said that after today, I would be communicating with you when it came to any further negotiations.”

“Considering you guys saved my life, I'll make sure to give you a fair deal,” Reyna said. A small smile came to her face. Her gaze stayed focused on Annabeth though. The last time she had seen Annabeth was when she tried to kill her. Things had changed, but she didn't feel very comfortable that her blade wasn't at her side. “And, I, uh, guess that I'm sorry for trying to steal your ship. If I had known you were trying to save the world, I would have waited until after you were done.”

“Well, you weren't successful in killing us, so I call that a plus. I would offer you the ship, but it was blown up during the battle with Gaea,” Annabeth said. A sad look crossed her face, and she blinked rapidly. She looked like she was trying to calm down. Chiron gently grabbed Annabeth's shoulder.

Reyna didn't respond. The only words that were coming to mind would not be helpful or really respectful. Instead of speaking, she gave a half shrug and looked away. Annabeth spoke, “Your sister said that I could talk to you about supplies, and maybe, you guys would be able to escort us if we ever need to go on the ocean for a quest.”

“I think we can make it work,” Reyna said. She saw someone else appear behind Annabeth. Reyna studied her older sister. Hylla nodded to Chiron and slipped past him. She walked towards Reyna's side.

“I told you to be safe,” Hylla said. She crossed her arms. Reyna rolled her eyes and smirked. If Hylla was going to lecture her, things would be find. Reyna still took the time to study her older sister further. There was a few cuts and bruises on Hylla's arm, but she seemed to have avoided any major injuries. Lucky her.

“Here I am,” Reyna said. She glanced down at herself. If she could look into a mirror, she was sure that she looked like hell warmed over. “In one piece.”

“Barely,” Hylla muttered. She gently placed a hand to Reyna's face and studied her. “I made a few deals with the two camps already, but it's going to require you traveling back and forth a few times. Do you think that you'll be able to handle that?”

“Yeah,” Reyna answered. While she was worried about her sister only a few seconds ago, she was now starting to get annoyed. Things were already back to normal. Reyna laid her head back and bit her lip. She thought back to her mother, but could she tell Hylla that she knew? Would it just drive Hylla even further away?

Reyna hated it, but she understood her sister's reasoning. She just wished that Hylla had told her. A hand brushed her arm, and Reyna looked up at Hylla. Her older sister looked down at her. There was no emotion on her face but clear concern in her eyes. Reyna smirked, and her sister glared slightly.

“We'll be leaving in a few hours,” Hylla stated. Reyna glanced up and nodded. “You're going to be on bed rest for the next few days though. I can't have you hurting your shoulder even more.”

“I know,” Reyna muttered. She closed her eyes and sighed. She really hated when Hylla made her go on bed rest. Reyna liked to work in her free time, and anytime she was hurt, she was forced to lay in bed and do nothing. And then, everyone would check up on Reyna to make sure she wasn't doing anything.

“You two are welcome to stay another night,” Chiron said. Hylla's lip twitched, but she still had her back to the Centaur. After a moment, she forced a smile to her face and turned.

“I appreciate the offer, but the two of us need to get back to our ship and get going. I have to check on a few things,” Hylla said. Chiron nodded and didn't look offended. Hylla glanced at Reyna. “I'm going to meet with Kinzie. Be on the ship in three hours.”

“Aye captain,” Reyna said, even though she knew she would be getting punched for it as soon as she felt better. She watched Hylla leave the infirmary. Reyna slowly looked at Annabeth and found herself lost in thought. What would it be like to be at a place like Camp Half-Blood? How would her life be different? Reyna sighed and pushed those thoughts out of her mind. It didn't matter what her life would have been like. For now, she needed to focus on the present.

Reyna had to worry about making sure things with the camps went smoothly. The camps were grateful for the help now, but would there be a point when the camps decided they didn't want to work with pirates. Reyna knew that Camp Jupiter wouldn't like pirates that much, so that would probably become real awkward real quick.

There was also the Mistveil. It didn't matter what Hylla thought. Those pirates were going to make a move against them, and like always, Reyna would just have to be there to save her sister's ass. Reyna groaned softly and slowly sat up. It took her even longer to make it to her feet, but Annabeth helped her.

“Thanks,” Reyna muttered. She awkwardly pulled away from Annabeth and watched her. “I should get back to the ship though. Check on everything.”

“Thank you again,” Annabeth said. Reyna nodded slightly and slowly turned towards the bedside table. She slowly grabbed her cutlasses and put them on her belt. Reyna turned towards Nico and studied him for a few moments. He was staring back at her.

“Stay safe, Di Angelo,” Reyna said. She nodded towards Chiron and Annabeth. As Reyna left, she kept her gaze on Nico. He was watching her, and there was a small frown on his face. Reyna quickly looked away and thought back to her dream that involved the son of Hades. Maybe, she had more than just two problems to worry about. A soft curse left the quartermaster. Something told her that the next few months would be the most important of her life.

* * *

Reyna stared back at Camp Half-Blood. From the outside, it was beautiful. There was the strawberry fields, the dense forest, the cabins, and the large statue on the hill. All of it came together to make a beautiful scene. Reyna looked away from the camp and sighed. She was sitting on the stern of the ship and trying to relax.

“You look like you took a beating,” Kendall commented. Reyna turned her head and watched Kendall walk towards her. The pirate sat on the stern, near Reyna. “How does your arm feel?”

“Terrible,” Reyna responded. She glanced at Kendall. The two were only a foot apart, and Kendall had a weird look on her face. Her eyes were trailing up and down Reyna's body, like she was trying to see if Reyna had more injuries. “It's just my arm.”

“I still wanted to check on you,” Kendall whispered. She put her hand to Reyna's knee. Reyna slowly looked down at the hand. “When we saw each other last, things ended on an awkward note, and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have just kissed you. I hope it hasn't been bothering you.”

Reyna looked down at the ground. After a moment, she glanced at Kendall. Would it be bad if she told Kendall that she hadn't thought about the incident at all? Well, it was the only thing she could think about during the night that it happened, but after that, Reyna had a lot more important things to worry about. Feelings were pretty easy to ignore.

“It's cool,” Reyna said, and she shrugged with her good shoulder. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Kendall was now eyeing her arms. Reyna frowned and shifted. She felt Kendall's other hand move to her upper forearm. “Is something wrong?”

“You're always wearing your coat. I never noticed how muscular you were,” Kendall said. Reyna looked away awkwardly. Why was Kendall commenting on how muscular Reyna was? All of the pirates were pretty fit. Reyna sighed and looked down. She was missing another piece of the puzzle, and Kendall was speaking in some kind of weird riddle.

“It comes with the job,” Reyna muttered. She slowly stood from the stern. “I think I'm going to take a nap. If anyone asks for me, I'll be awake for dinner.”

“Reyna, wait,” Kendall said. She grabbed Reyna's arm. After a moment, Reyna turned towards Kendall. “You're not mad at me, are you? Are we okay?”

“We're fine. I'm just tired, Kendall. It's been a long, weird week, and I just want to sleep in my cabin,” Reyna said. Kendall nodded and kissed her cheek. Reyna blinked a few times in confusion. She watched Kendall wall away. Reyna stared for a few moments. What was that?

Reyna sighed angrily and started to walk towards her cabin. She liked Kendall as a friend, but Kendall was so insistent on being touchy and complimenting Reyna at every point and turn. If Kendall could just keep her hands to herself, that would be great. Another angry sigh left Reyna, and she made sure to avoid eye contact with any of the pirates that she saw. The last thing she needed was another conversation.

As Reyna walked, she awkwardly tried to reach into her pocket to grab her two coins. She managed to free them from her pocket as she made it through the door. Reyna went to flip the coins, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw something on her bed. She stared at the leather coat, her leather coat, that was laying on the bed.

Reyna sat the coins on her pillow and picked up the leather coat. She examined the blood that covered the inside of the leather coat. Two holes were torn into the shoulder of the coat. Reyna examined the coat and saw a small note that was on the bed.

“Wait for the veil to fall,” Reyna read. She lowered the note angrily. Then, she crumbled it up. Reyna closed her eyes. The last thing she needed was another riddle. Reyna examined her coat and sat it on her desk. She would need to wash it and fix the holes. For now, she would sleep.

Reyna collapsed onto her bed and flipped her two coins into the air. She blinked, and her dogs were jumping onto her bed. Aurum curled up on top of her legs, and Argentum gently licked Reyna's face. Reyna wrapped her good arm around Argentum and pulled him close.

“I missed you guys too,” Reyna whispered. She rested her head against her dog and tried to relax. After a moment, her eyes went back to the note that was laying on the ground. Someone was warning her about the Mistveil pirates, and considering they had given Reyna her lost coat back, it had to be an immortal. Most likely, it was her mother.

If Bellona was warning Reyna, things had to be dire. That meant Reyna would need to be on high alert and keep an eye out for any threats to her or her sister. There was also the dreams that she had. Reyna tried so hard to shove those dreams to the back of the mind.

Truthfully, those dreams scared Reyna to her core. She took a shaky breath and closed her eyes. The dreams indicated that she would be arguing with Nico over something, and the two would attack each other. Reyna had seen his power, and the last thing she wanted to do was fight him. There was also the dream where something dragged her underwater. Oh, and there was the one where a man threatened to break her spirit and take her soul. So, she had that to look forward to.

There was no point in speculating though. Reyna would just need to get healthy and prepare for the future. Something told her that it would change her world forever. Reyna didn't care if she was going to be pitted against the Mistveil pirates or the camps. It didn't matter. Reyna would do everything in her power to keep her sister and the rest of her ship safe, even if it killed her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone enjoyed the story. There will be a sequel.


End file.
